


Lonely Hearts Club

by shoyousugar



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bisexual Character, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Football, Friendship, House Party, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Underage Drinking, Violence, i’m sorry i-, there do be some spice, this story is more for me than anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:35:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 27
Words: 168,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22528714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoyousugar/pseuds/shoyousugar
Summary: ‘Beacon High: where the most prestigious dream to go.’Blake and her parents moved to Vale and Blake is adamant that there is going to be some changes in her life. New school, new friends, get rid of the pain in the ass boyfriend.A typical high school romance story.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 127
Kudos: 552





	1. New Kid on the Block

**Author's Note:**

> Guys please keep in mind I’ve only wrote bumbleby once before and I really just wanted jock yang.

‘Beacon High: where the most prestigious dream to go.’

That’s what Blake had been told at her induction day for Beacon, when she was feeling out of place and trying to figure out if she really wanted to attend that school. She was sold immediately on that one line.

It was the writer in her that was urging her on to be pulled in by it. It was a shitty line, she was well aware of its cheap tackiness, but cheap tackiness was what all the romance novels she read were about.

She told her parents that’s where she wanted to go when they moved to Vale and they happily indulged her by signing her up; she was in.

“I don’t know why you want to go to this shitty place, it’s just gonna be full of fascists and douchebags.” Adam growled, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. Adam, her boyfriend and head of Vale’s chapter of the White Fang. He was also a high school dropout so of course he didn’t want her to go to school at all. Claiming that ‘he turned out just fine’ which was... _not true_.

“Because I actually _like_ school and besides,” she leaned her head against the window and watching as the car whizzed past the many stores on the streets “I think I want to take a break from the White Fang.”

“ _What?!_ ” Adam spat and Blake felt the car speed up, Adam clearly giving into his anger impulses. “You _can’t_ be serious!” He barked as the car came to a halt and Blake was only thankful that they had finally made it to Beacon.

“The White Fang is _important_ to me, and you’re just gonna give it up?!”

“Well _this_ is important to me Adam, I want to go to school, to go to college, my life can’t just revolve around you and the White Fang.” Blake argued back, her ears shooting up. There was a low rumble in Adam’s throat that was animalistic; the animal instincts he had shot to the surface more than they should have.

“Just go before you’re late, you can call me when you get a break.” He grumbled and Blake took that as a sign to finally leave.

She grabbed her backpack, keeping it clutched to her shoulder as she got out the car, walking towards the school and not taking a look back. She didn’t need to look to know Adam was watching her.

‘ _God, I need to break up with him_ ’ she grumbled mentally.

The school was nice enough as she walked through the campus, teenagers grouping off round about her and she felt like all eyes were on her. Well of course, she was the new girl _and_ a faunus, talk about painting a target on your own back. 

Inside of the school however was a whole other ballgame. It was modern. Everything was either metallic or wooden, painted in greyscale or plain white. The tiled floors were gleaming despite the amount of students that must have plodded through here each day with muddy shoes.

“Excuse me? Blake Belladonna?”

Blake jumped, startled by the sudden voice. She turned to see who she knew to be the headmaster, Professor Ozpin. She nodded at him “Yes, that’s me.” The professor smiled and gestured for her to follow him, which she did, finding that she didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

“You moved here from Menagerie, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Well I can assure you, faunus discrimination is not tolerated here.”

“That’s...” she thought back to Adam claiming the White Fang was her only safety “actually comforting to know.”

They turned a corner and into a large office, a weird amount of clocks adorning the walls. She took a seat in front of his desk, Ozpin sitting at the other side and sliding forward a sheet of paper that was waiting to be handed to her.

“This is your new timetable, all of the teachers and their classroom numbers are on it.” Blake expected that to be the end of it, just take your timetable and go. “But I also have a guide who’s going to show you around first.” Blake’s eyes widened. A guide? She didn’t need the red carpet treatment like that.

Almost as if on cue there was a knock on the door. “You wanted to see me sir?” A cheerful voice asked from behind her.

Blake twisted in her seat, only to see a girl with a nest of blonde hair, pulled back into a ponytail, wearing one of Beacon’s staple hoodies and a huge grin on her face. ‘ _She’s cute._ ’ Blake thought.

“Blake this is Yang, captain of the schools woman’s football team.” Ozpin gestured his hand over to Yang, only for her to blink and realise that was her cue to say something.

“ _Right_ , yeah that’s me, it’s nice to meet you Blake!” Yang grinned and stuck her hand out, Blake wearily took it and shook. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

It was scary how easily Yang was able to guide Blake around the school, making little comments on every detail and a few of which had made Blake laugh. Like how she showed her around the science department and pointed to the room that housed the chemicals and said ‘ _It’s like a meth lab in there, trust me.’_

“-And finally,” Yang said dramatically as she stretched her arms out “The cafeteria, that is weirdly empty all the time.” Blake giggled at that because she wasn’t wrong. Looking around there was only two other people in the entirety of the cafeteria. Apparently everyone preferred to stand outside rather than sit at a table.

“So what do you think? Want to drop out yet?” Yang laughed as she triumphantly placed her hands behind her head. Blake winced a little at the thought of dropping out... of ending up like Adam. She’d go insane.

“Seems good so far judging by your welcome.” 

“I’m glad.” Yang said, dropping her hands into her hoodie pocket. Blake pulled out her timetable, squinting to see what class she had first. “What’ve you got- _oh_ I’m in that class too! You can sit with me!” Yang said excitedly.

“You any good at English?” Yang asked with a genuine curiosity. “My favourite subject as lame as that sounds.” Blake admitted sheepishly. Yang pouted at her.

“It’s not lame! It’s cool. You must be super into reading and stuff too right?”

“ _Yeah_?”

“See?! That’s cool! All I can do is play sports and scrape a B in each of my classes!”

Blake giggled at Yang’s version of self deprecation, although it would sound like a brag in any other context. She could tell Yang was sincere when she spoke about how she thought reading was ‘cool’.

Adam would never say that. 

* * *

There was a small break in between periods three and four, that prompted all students to relax, grab some breakfast if they hadn’t already had some and try and think about an excuse for unfinished homework. 

Blake gulped as she wandered into the cafeteria. It was intimidating with the amount of people passing through the cafeteria yet as Yang had told her earlier, barely anybody actually sat at the tables. 

“ _ **Blake! Over here!**_ ” 

Yang’s booming voice rang out over everything else and Blake turned to see the blonde waving her over to the table she was sitting at with what she presumed to be her group of friends. 

“Hey.” Blake said as she walked closer to the table, tucking a strand of hair behind her hair nervously. Yang grinned and tugged lightly on her arm for her to sit on the seat next to Yang. 

“Guys this is Blake, she’s new here.” Yang said nonchalantly and the other four people at the table perked up with excitement. A girl with red hair pulled back into a pony leaned forward and stretched her hand out for Blake to shake “Hi, I’m Pyrrha!”

Blake shook her hand but the handshake was cut short as a girl with ginger hair snatched her hand and shook it vigorously. “I’m Nora! Nice to meet you!” The boy sitting next to her with longish black hair yanked Nora back across the table before Blake could process what was happening.

“Sorry about her she can be excitable, I’m Ren.” He could only nod at Blake as he held back Nora, holding a hand over her mouth, her screams being muffled. Yang let out a sigh and bit her lip. The blonde boy sitting next to Pyrrha leaned forward and coolly reached his hand out.

“I’m Jaune, _Jaune Arc_.” He winked. Blake cringed inwardly when she shook his hand, scared that she might actually offend him. “It’s nice to meet you guys, Yang was telling me some stories about you guys in English.”

“ _Ohhh_ , which story?” Pyrrha said with a genuine curiosity. Blake’s ears twitched when she saw the happy glint in her eyes. “She told me about the time you guys needed one more goal to win so Pyrrha gave Nora the ball and threw her over the other team.”

“That was a great game, that was the first time we won the championships. Can’t say Yang was... thrilled at the after party though.” Pyrrha smiled solemnly. Nora somehow broke free of Ren’s grasp and struggled over to Blake’s side of the table.

“I thought Yang was gonna score with her that night.”

‘ _Oh_.’ Blake just caught Nora’s words and a sudden realisation struck her.

“ _ **Nora!**_ ”

“ _Sorry_ , sorry Pyrrha... sorry Yang.” Nora said, holding her head down in slight shame. When Blake looked between Pyrrha and Yang, the red head was the one that seemed more bothered by it. The blonde sighed as she turned towards Blake, a sheepish grin on her face. “I’m sure you realise what that implies...” Yang visibly gulped as she awaited Blake’s reply.

Blake shrugged and smiled. “Good for you, I’m not bothered by stuff like that. It’s kind of normal for me now anyway.” Yang looked unbelievably relieved when she had said that, as did everyone else at the table. “ _Cool_...” Yang breathed, looking a little dazed.

“What about you Blake, are you single?” Jaune asked, leaning his head on his hand and thinking he was as suave as they come. Blake smiled and closed her eyes for a moment to process everything.

“No I have a boyfriend but... it’s a long story.”

“Sounds like an impending breakup.”

“The short version is his name is Adam Taurus.”

The groups eyes widened in shock. Clearly they knew who he was.

“ _Exactly_ , and he’s exactly what you’d expect him to be.” The faunus sighed and smiled weakly. The group looked amongst themselves for a moment, except for Yang, who held eye contact with Blake. It was endearing really. “I just thought I’d mention it in case you see him around the school.” Blake gulped.

“Well... I hope he doesn’t get you into trouble.” Pyrrha winced and struggled to keep a neutral expression. “Don’t worry I don’t get involved with anything he does, and none of you will get involved either.” Blake was realising that this wasn’t exactly the best first impression she’d ever given.

“Yang’s always single if you wanna dump him.” 

“ _Nora!_ ”

Blake ended up swapping her number with all of them and her social media, she was now added to their group chat. She guessed they were her friends now and she was loving it. 

* * *

Blake ended up sitting with Yang again at lunch. She was actually starting to develop what she thought was a friendship with the girl.

“My friend Velvet is a bunny faunus, her girlfriend Coco broke a dude’s nose for saying something about her bunny ears.”

“I’ve had my fair share of things said about my ears but I suppose that comes with being a faunus. It doesn’t help that my parents used to run the white fang.”

“Seriously? That’s cool, I respect what they do even if recently they’ve got a little...” Yang trailed off, looking as if she was thinking up a way to not sound insulting.

“Violent? Yeah I know, I stopped my involvement with the White Fang when we moved here. I don’t like it either.” Blake cringed and Yang seemed to look relieved. Blake’s phone began to buzz on the table and she picked it up, it was Adam. She never answered a she only slipped it into the pocket of her denim jacket. She could see Yang raising her eyebrow out if the corner of her eye.

“ _Yang_!” A shrill voice called out from a few metres away. A girl dressed grey plaid skirt and a white T-shirt marched over, clutching a red folder to her chest. Yang rolled her eyes. “Blake this is Weiss, my sisters girlfriend-“

“ _Not_ her girlfriend and hi, it’s nice to meet you...” Weiss awkwardly trailed off as she reached her hand out to shake Blake’s.

“Blake.”

“Blake.” Weiss repeated and smiled. Blake’s phone buzzed and she prayed neither of them heard it. “Anyways, where’s Ruby? I need to give her this folder.” Yang shrugged at her and smirked. “Not a clue, why don’t you just call her?” Yang said smugly. Blake couldn’t help but laugh, because it was obvious Yang was trying to annoy Weiss, and it was working.

Weiss rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to dignify Yang with a reply to that. “I’ll check the track, she’s probably doing laps again.” Weiss said before walking off, still holding the red folder. Blake felt and heard her phone buzz again, she was getting annoyed now.

“What’s your sister like?” Blake asked, trying to take her mind off of her phone. “She’s a little ball of energy honestly. She’s my younger sister and she’s the track and field star. Ruby’s won half the trophies in Ozpin’s office.” Yang chuckled.

“And the other half?”

“I won those.” Blake giggled at her cockiness and her phone buzzed again. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment, her ears pinning back in embarrassment because she knew Yang was going to ask about it.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, but you’re phone has really been ringing nonstop.” Yang said lightly, and it sounded so sincere, so honest, so kind that Blake’s heart fluttered. There was a small part of her that told her it was okay to let Yang in, even though she barely knew her, she felt she could trust her.

“It’s just, _Adam_ , he’s a pain in the ass and...”

“You don’t need to tell me it all if you’re not comfortable with it, but if you need me... _you know._ ” She shrugged and smirked brightly. That made the faunus girl feel better. Just that small gesture of kindness made her feel so much better. “I’ll just text him to get him off my back.” She sent him some excuse about not being allowed phones out during school hours.

Blake rolled her eyes at the image of a new policy Adam was looking to pass in the White Fang. She slid her phone back into her pocket, not even wanting to reply at all. She looked up to see Yang and Nora arm wrestling a little bit further down the table.

She was content to just be here right now. 

* * *

“You sure you’re gonna be okay going home alone? I could walk you if you want?” 

“Yang, I’ll be fine. You don’t need to guide me even _outside_ of school.” Blake laughed as both of them walked through the crowded halls, landing at Yang’s locker. She opened up the locker, picking out a black and yellow duffel bag that she swung over her shoulder. 

“I could always walk you then come back for practice.” 

“Doesn’t seem too responsible for the captain of a football team.” Blake laughed and Yang rolled her eyes at her “I’ll text you when I got home.” 

“And I’ll text back after _or during_ practice.” Yang laughed and they both walked their separate ways. Blake couldn’t believe it. She’d made friends on her first day. Go her! Edgy book loving Belladonna made friends. Jesus her life was sad if this was her best accomplishment today. 

She walked outside the school gates and saw Adam’s car-

She rubbed her eyes, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Adam’s car was indeed there and he was staring right at her. Even after she told him not to come and pick her up. Seriously some people need to learn what ‘no’ means.

She ruffled her bangs and pretended she hadn’t saw a thing, clutching onto the strap of her backpack tightly as she walked down the street. She glanced back and saw the car following her. God she hated this. She hoped no one else from school would notice what he was doing. 

Because not only was it weird and creepy, it also established her as the new girl dating  _Adam Taurus_ who is also a  _crazy stalker_. 

Her phone began to buzz in her pocket. She was caught. She couldn’t escape. He would know. He could _see_ her. She pulled her phone out and slid her thumb across the answer button before lifting it up to her ear. “Hey-“

“Why didn’t you come to the car?”

“ _Excuse me?_ ” She feigned innocence.

“You clearly saw me. Why didn’t you come to the car? Where are you going?”

“I _never_ saw the car and I’m going home.”

“Come back to the car and I’ll drive you.”

“ _I don’t know where the car is!_ ” Blake yelled from pure frustration. She heard him chuckle lowly over the phone and she shivered for a moment, but she continued to walk, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she could get away with this.

“Ilia was at the rally today, she said she misses you. I’ll bring you to the next rally.”

“I told you this morning I don’t want _involved_ with the White Fang anymore Adam.”

She was crossing the road now, glancing sideways as innocently as she could, she spotted him in his car, staring at her. That horrendous scar across his eye was still covered up by an eyepatch. Blake kept walking, faster, she just wanted to get home and make an excuse not to see him.

“I don’t care, I’m bringing you to the next rally. You haven’t been in so long, besides it’s your family and your friends.”

“My family are at home waiting for me and today I made new friends. I’m not coming to the next rally, _you can’t make me._ ” Blake smiled triumphantly when she turned down a side street, which meant that if Adam wanted to follow her he’d either have to circle the block or wait in front of her house.

He had done the latter before to be fair.

“Do you know how bad that makes me look?! You off gallivanting whilst I’m fighting for the future of the faunus?!” Adam barked, his voice much louder and his voice more aggressive. “Because- actually, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Blake hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. A bold move.

She enjoyed the rest of her walk home, as much as she wished she could answer Adam’s calls and strangle him through the phone, she couldn’t, but that was fine. 

* * *

“Blake hunny is that you?”

“It’s me mom.” Blake replied, kicking off her shoes at the front door and dumping her backpack somewhere between the staircase and kitchen. Her mother, Kali, stood as she chopped away at carrots before dumping them into a pot. “How was school?” 

“It was actually okay.” 

“Did you make friends?” 

“A couple.” 

“Did... Adam bother you.” There was a beat of silence before it was broke again with a loud chop, that was her mother continuing her task as she listened to Blake speak. “Kind of...” Blake checked her phone and saw all of the missed calls from him.

“Blake...” Kali grabbed her wrists and gently pulled Blake towards her. “We’re in Vale now so maybe...” her mother closed her eyes and sighed “ _Maybe_ it’s time for another change.” 

Blake nodded slightly, keeping her gaze held steadfast with the ground. She’d thought the same thing over and over and over again. But that type of conversation, with someone like Adam, would never go well. 

“It might take a while to be able to do that though, because I don’t think he’ll... _react_ well.”

“Okay, lets just not let your father know. We want you to break up with Adam, not have your father break his legs.” They both laughed before Kali pulled away, going back to cooking. Blake groaned when she felt her phone buzz again. She whipped it out of her pocket, prepared to block Adam’s number... that actually wasn’t a bad idea.

  
Instead she was met with a text from Yang. Her heart fluttered. That was a much better revelation than having Adam calling her.

>   
>  **Yang:** practice is lame i got benched :)))
> 
> **Blake:** how?
> 
> **Yang:** smacked Nora in the face w the ball
> 
> **Yang:** u get home alright?
> 
> **Blake:** actually i got kidnapped lol

“Is that Adam?” Kali asked, her voice just short of a growl. “No it’s my friend Yang.” Blake said, biting the nail on her thumb to try and hide her smile. Kali glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Blake who was watching her screen like a hawk.

“What’s she like?”

“She’s really nice. I ended up having to tell her I was dating Adam because he kept calling but she was cool about it, she didn’t pressure me to say anything else.”

“Sounds like quite a catch, is she pretty?”

“ ** _Mom!_** ” Blake blushed and dropped her phone, hiding her face behind her hands. All embarrassment was forgotten when her phone buzzed again.

> **Yang:** oh dam does that mean ur cray cray bf is on the scene?   
> 
> 
> **Blake:** he keeps calling me. think i should block his number?   
> 
> 
> **Yang:** totally, ovbs idk him much but if u want rid of him then do it 
> 
> **Blake:** yeah thanks, i’m gonna do that 
> 
> **Yang:** yes!!! that’s the way ;)

“She could be your rebound-“

“Mom, I _literally_ just met her.” 

> **Yang:** pyrrha’s yellin at me to get bk to it, text u later tho 
> 
> **Blake:** okay, don’t hurt nora again 
> 
> **Yang:** mmmkay :p

Blake sighed and held her phone in her hands, it felt weightless, meaningless now. She wished they could’ve talked for longer...

Blake slapped her forehead ‘ _Jesus am I really that clingy to someone I’ve known for five fucking minutes?!_ ’ She groaned out loud. Her mother laughed as she sat a plate down in front of her and some cutlery. Her phone buzzed again. And again. It wasn’t Yang. 

> **Adam:** Where are you?   
>  **Adam:** Are you with someone?
> 
> **Adam:** Answer now
> 
> **Adam:** missed calls **(39)**

Blake gulped and decided that this would be the right time to just block his number. No explanation, no conversation, and no intimidation from him. All she has to say if she sees him again is that her phone is broken. And once she’s feeling up to the challenge, she’ll break up with him.

Tapping her thumbs on her phone methodically, she blocked his number and sighed a sigh of relief. 

“Can you empty this for me kitten?” Her mother gestured towards to the sink full of water. Blake nodded and stood up, suddenly feeling ten times lighter when she was walking around. It was amazing. 

“Watch this for me whilst I go to the bathroom.” Kali said before walking off into the hallway, Blake stood with her back to the counter, blissfully taking in her sudden freedom. It could barely class as freedom, but there was some sort of relief there that she couldn’t explain.

“ _Blake,_ I smell burning!”

“ _Shit!_ ” 


	2. Hunny, You’ve Got A Stalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, fluff, fluffy, fluff. That’s all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I got carried away writing this.

Blake woke up from, what could easily be described as, the best sleep of her life. Tossing on a hoodie and jeans, fixing her hair, she went downstairs for breakfast.

“And _you’re sure_ you don’t need me to drop you off at school?”

“ _No_ , I’ll be fine.” Blake said as she dumped her plate into the sink. She looked back to see her father narrowing his eyes at her. “Dad, I promise I’ll be fine.” She giggled and walked into the hallway, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“See you guys later!”

“Blake-“

“Ghira, she’s _sixteen_ , not _six_.” Kali laughed and placed her hand on his shoulder “She knows what she’s doing.” 

* * *

Walking to school made Blake feel weirdly nostalgic. She hadn’t done it in such a long time. Usually her dad or Adam would drive her to school but... this was _weird_. 

But not a bad weird like a ‘ _oh the last time I walked to school was a super long time ago_ ’ kind of weird. It was so nostalgic to the point where she was listening to an old playlist Ilia had made her years ago. 

Blake had her hands stuffed in her pockets as the music blared through her earphones, switching from song to song. Suddenly, she got a strange wave of fear wash over her. She gulped, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. 

_Baby I'm preying on you tonight, hunt you down eat you alive, just like animals, animals, like animals-mals_

She looked up at the lights, willing for them to change so she wouldn’t have to stand here any longer. This was torture. Why was she so on edge all of a sudden? She was only trying to cross the street- 

She turned her head, glancing back as subtly as she could. And there he was. Adam was sitting in his car, hidden behind a few others, watching her. Blake’s heart sank. This couldn’t be happening. 

_ Maybe you think that you can hide, I can smell your scent for miles, just like animals, animals, like animals-mals _

The light turned green, she could walk across. Only now she didn’t walk, she briskly jogged. Maybe it looked she was taking a jog to school- who was she kidding no one jogs in _fucking_ _jeans_. 

She tried to walk as fast as she could without looking suspicious, she knew he could still see her from down the street. She turned a corner and began to run now that she knew she was out of his view. Beacon was only a street away. Just one more street and she would be fine. 

Blake slowed down a little, her heart was racing, she glanced back. He was there, driving towards her, only slowed down by the traffic in front of him. Starting to run again would only make it worse, so all she could do was walk as fast as she could. 

The cars were starting to move again as she got to the gate. 

‘ _Thank god, I’m almost there!_ ’ She screamed internally. 

She stumbled past the gate, almost tripping on a cobblestone as she did so. She felt safe now. Like there was some sort of invisible line blocking Adam out. Her legs were trembling slightly, but she continued to soldier on. This wasn’t going to ruin her morning. 

But this was only the first of a few bad mornings. 

For the next four days the same thing happened over and over again, Adam followed her to and from school, disappearing as soon as she got inside either the school gates or the street she lived in.

It kept up till _Friday_ , when she finally felt drained walking into school, she knew he had won, but she wouldn’t admit that. Blake leaned her head against her newly assigned locker, she didn’t have the willpower to open it. Her nerves were shot from having to run to school that morning. She could’ve easily asked her dad to drive her, but she was too stubborn to admit defeat.

“ _Wakey, wakey, Blakey!_ ” A cheery voice said to her left. It was none other than Yang, who was as fresh as a daisy, her hair tied back and adorning a black varsity jacket with yellow details, an item of clothing that Blake had come to learn that Yang loved.

“Hey Yang...” She grumbled, pushing herself up and slowly opening her locker. Yang leaned against the locker next to her, her arms folded across her chest and raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?” The blonde asked quietly. Blake appreciated that Yang had quickly learned that Blake doesn’t like having anyone hear about her problems, if there is any at all.

“Just... nothing. It’s fine, don’t worry.” The raven haired girl shook her head before gritting her teeth as she rifled through her backpack. “ _Shit_ , I forgot my notes.” She covered her face with her hands.

“For what?

“English.”

“That’s fine, you can just share with me, no biggy.” Yang bit her lip, Blake knew she wanted to ask something more, but she appreciated that she never did. Blake pulled out her phone, examining herself in the camera of it. “I _look_ like a corpse.” She hissed.

She felt Yang lean into her shoulder and saw her come into view on her phone. “Well I think you look _stunning_ Belladonna.” She smirked and winked at her. Blake laughed and nudged Yang with her shoulder, making her laugh too.

The bell rang out around them, and the sobering reality of Blake having to go through a full day of classes set in. She groaned and leaned back into Yang, who held her up by the waist and chuckled lightly.

Blake stood up straight and held her bag over her shoulder again, keeping her grip on the strap loose now that all tension had suddenly been released. Strange how that can happen.

Yang nodded at her “C’mon I’ll walk you to class, I’ve got a free period.” She said. Blake happily let Yang guide her through the crowded hallways to her calculus class. 

* * *

Blake’s ears were flopped forward, showing how tired she was as she sat next to Pyrrha at the table. There were bags under Blake’s eyes and just about all of her friends were watching as she was struggling to stay awake. 

“Uh, so where’s Ruby and Weiss... _again_.” Pyrrha said, snapping everyone out of their thoughts on the tired faunus. Jaune shrugged “Ruby’s probably out on the track. She’s been really ramped up about this race coming up.” 

“What about Weiss?” 

“Probably sitting on the bleachers scribbling love hearts around her and Ruby’s names.” They all laughed lightly. Nora chuckled and wrinkled her nose before looking up at Yang. “Are Ruby and Weiss _actually_ dating or do you just like to annoy them.” 

“I just like annoying them.” Yang grinned and spun a pen in her hand “Maybe there is something there, who knows, I’m not a mind reader.” 

“Has she got a race coming up?” Blake asked, more because she needed to stay awake than that she was interested. “Yeah, it’s her final of the season and she wants to break the record. Our team has a exhibition match on the same day.” Yang said and Blake’s ears perked up, suddenly she was interested.

“ _Hell yeah_ we do! With me, Yang and Pyrrha playing, we’re sure to win!” Nora exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with an excitement that Blake couldn’t quite pin down. “Pyrrha’s our MVP, she’s our top goal scorer.” Yang bragged as she shot Blake a proud look.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t score any goals without you taking a few hits for me.” Pyrrha bumped her shoulder off of Blake’s and nodded towards Yang “She always runs alongside me and Coco, she takes a few hits to make sure we score, so every game she leaves battered and bruised.”

“An admirable thing, but I’m sure that’s not healthy.” Blake giggled and Yang blushed, suddenly flustered by the sudden comment. “Yeah well... someone’s gotta do it.” Yang chuckled nervously. Blake smiled softly, ‘ _Adorable_ ’ she thought.

“Can’t wait for the cheer team to start another fight.” Jaune chuckled, leaning on his hand and looking up at Yang, who he expected to finish his story. “Sun and Neptune got their asses handed to them last time.” Yang laughed, causing the rest of them to grin.

Blake looked at them all with a quizzical look and for a moment they all had forgotten that she was actually new here. “Sun and Neptune are the only two boys on the cheer squad, the rest of them are girls, but each time they start an argument with the other team’s cheer squad.” Yang explained.

“It’s usually because they hit on the girls on the other team and their boyfriends get mad.” Pyrrha winced, and Blake figured that asking anymore would only lead to literally painful memories.

“You should come and watch, it’ll be fun.” Yang said softly and every thought in Blake’s head suddenly disappeared, only being replaced with the word ‘ _yes_ ’. “Yeah you can sit with me and Jaune, the matches are always fun to watch.” Ren said with Jaune nodding in agreement alongside him.

“Yeah, of course I’d go, I feel like it’d be criminal if I didn’t.” Blake laughed and hoped they wouldn’t notice the reddening of her human ears. “Cool, that means we can drag you to the after-party.”

“I knew there’d be a catch to this.”

“There always is~” Nora sang. “It’s a house party at Coco’s place, her parents are always out of town so she always throws parties.” There was a moment of silence as Blake tried to process how cool Coco sounded between being on the football team and a party provider.

“Remember when Jaune thought he was cool and threw a house party.” Yang snorted at the memory Nora had just brought up. Pyrrha placed a hand on Jaune’s shoulder and shot him an apologetic smile. “You were in way over your head.”

“Yeah, especially because he lost a bet to you and had to wear a dress.” Everyone laughed whilst Jaune and Pyrrha blushed, both of them having embarrassing flashbacks to the memory of it. “Blake c’mere, I gotta show you these photos.” Yang whipped out her phone and waved Blake over.

They spent the rest of break laughing over photos of Jaune in a white dress, drunk and gushing over Pyrrha in some videos and photos. 

* * *

There was a nudge, then a groan. A nudge and a groan, the snapping of fingers. Blake’s eyes fluttered open, meeting a hand waving in front of her face. “Blake? _Blaaaake_?” She heard her name being called out. Had she fallen asleep at some point? 

She sat up, her ears rotating as she was waking up. She saw Yang standing in front of her with a worried look on her face. She looked around the class, being met with poetry on the walls and people exiting all around her. Yep, she’d fallen asleep in English. 

“You should’ve woke me.” Blake grumbled, her ears folding back as she pouted. Yang rolled her eyes and leaned forward, picking up Blake’s bag for her. “I was gonna but all we were doing was watching one of those dumb videos, so I thought I’d let you sleep.” She sighed as she unzipped the bag, packing away Blake’s book for her. 

“What’s going on with you? You don’t need to tell me if you don’t wanna but... I don’t know I’m worried.” Yang sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Blake gulped and stood up, walked around the table to lean against it. “It’s just... I’m trying to breakup with Adam and... _he’s nuts_.” Blake said, swirling a finger around her temple. 

“What’d he do?” 

“He’s... . He’s _stalking me_! Like following me to school then again when I’m going home.”

“And you blocked his number?”

“Yeah! But like... _I don’t know_.” Blake shook her head and looked down at the ground. This was embarrassing. She hated that she was appearing so weak and fragile. Like she needed to be protected. Like she was just a victim in the situation.

“So that would mean he’s outside waiting for you to go home, right?” Yang asked, making sure that her observation was correct. Blake nodded slowly, realising that Adam was waiting for her to leave so that he could follow her was a more terrifying revelation when said out loud like that.

“Why don’t you come with me to practice? It’ll throw him off.” Yang smiled reassuringly. Blake’s heart warmed, she felt much better after hearing that. Yang made it sound as if it was the best plan in the world and she loved it. “Yeah... yeah that sounds good.” Blake looked back up at Yang “It also means I get to see what you’re like when you play.”

“Yup, you get to see the best player on the team in action, aren’t you lucky.” The blonde winked, Blake couldn’t stifle the girlish giggle that escaped her lips. Yang grabbed Blake’s bag, throwing it over her shoulder. She held out her arm for Blake to grab hold of.

“C’mon milady.” Yang said playfully. The raven haired girl giggled again and took hold of her arm, leaning into it slightly and blaming her sleep deprivation for leaning into her touch. “What a gentlewoman, _I’m swooning_.”

What can I say, it’s just who I am. Besides, you’re not swooning yet.” They both laughed at each other all the way down to the lockers to collect Yang’s gym bag. 

* * *

Blake sat on the bleachers with Yang’s jacket wrapped around her to keep her warm, watching the practice match unfold in front of her. Off to the side were the cheer leaders practicing as well, led by a faunus boy with blonde hair and a monkey tail. 

She watched Yang tackle a girl with short green hair as gently as she could. By tackle she meant that Yang had looked as if she was going to tackle her, but instead picked her up and moved her aside, abstaining from hurting the girl in anyway. Yang caught Blake’s gaze and waved at her, Blake gave a shy wave back.

“She’s like a gentle giant.” An unfamiliar voice said from beside her. Blake turned to see a girl with long bunny ears, wearing a worn-out brown leather jacket. “You’re Blake right?”

“Yeah, I’m Blake, and you are...” Blake tried to think back to anything Yang had told her that week, anything about a faunus girl with bunny ears, she honestly couldn’t remember. “Velvet.” The girl giggled and sat down beside Blake.

“Oh,” Blake suddenly realised who she was “Yang said you were dating Coco. I remember her mentioning that you were a faunus too.” Blake said, proud of herself for finally remembering what Yang had told her. Velvet giggled and hid her face behind her ears “Yeah, Coco’s my girlfriend...” Blake could see her blush behind her ears.

Blake spotted the camera hanging from the other girl’s neck. “Are you a photographer?” She asked and gestured towards the device. Velvet’s ears flopped back up to her head, she looked relieved to get off the subject of Coco. “Yeah, sorta, I’m still learning the particulars though.”

Blake smiled, satisfied with that answer. “It’s good that you’ve got a hobby like that. I feel that it keeps your mind off of everything.”

“Yeah but that’s where Coco comes in, she keeps my mind off of _everything_ but her.”

“ _Really_?” Blake raised an eyebrow at her and giggled, looking out over the field to spot Coco. “She demands attention.” Just as Velvet said that, Coco began dashing across the field, doing flashy throw of the ball and catching them again. Yang ran in front of her, taking a tackle that was meant for Coco.

Coco flopped to the ground, smashing the ball against the grass at the goal, she was exhausted from the exertion.

Yang jumped in the air, still clinging on to whatever energy she had left after the long practice. “You’ll come to find out that Yang and Coco constantly compete with each other.” Velvet laughed as she watched Coco try to stand up and match Yang’s energy.

“Why do they compete?”

“Apart from Pyrrha, I’d say they were both two of the most popular girls in the school. Mainly because they’re on the football team.” The raven haired girl rolled her eyes. She hasn’t known Yang for very long, but that definitely sounds like her.

“It’s because Yang is stubborn and refuses to be outdone by anyone, _Coco_ is just the same.” 

Blake turned to see Weiss walking towards them, a girl slightly taller than her with short brown hair with red tips walking alongside her. She swore she saw Weiss slip her hand out of the other girls. ‘ _Oh wait till Yang hears this!_ ’ Blake thought. 

“Hey Velvet, Blake this is Yang’s sister Ruby.” Weiss held her hand out to introduce Ruby, who smiled brightly and waved her hand in the air. Cheerful and energetic just must be a thing that runs in the family. “Hey! It’s nice to meet you! My sister’s told me so much about you!” Ruby exclaimed as she reached her hand out for Blake to shake.

Blake blushed as she shook her hand, trying to process what she just said. “Yang talks about me?” She said, more to herself than anyone else. “Yeah she said- oof.” Ruby was cut off with a sharp jut to the stomach from Weiss’ elbow. “Sorry about her, she talks too much.” Weiss smiled politely.

Ruby rubbed her stomach, trying to recover from the injury. “Well I just thought I’d come over, say ‘hi’ and ask if you could tell Yang that I’ll be home later?” Ruby said, holding her hands in a prayer, hoping that Blake would agree.

The cat faunus smiled and nodded. “Yeah I’ll tell her, don’t worry.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Ruby said before Weiss rolled her eyes and began to drag her off, Ruby gave a haphazard wave goodbye as she was dragged away. “They’re _definitely_ fucking.” Blake jumped from, yet another, unfamiliar voice. She tilted her head to see the girl she knew to be Coco with her hands resting on Velvet’s shoulders, her helmet casually held under her arm.

“Coco! You’re so crude!”

“I’m not crude, I’m blunt and straightforward.” She smirked down at Velvet before looking over at Blake, a cocky smirk resting on her face. “I’m Coco by the way.” Coco nodded at Blake, her hands busy gripping onto Velvet’s shoulders. Blake nodded back “I’m Blake.”

“I know, Yang told me.” Blake smiled up at her and Coco ruffled her hair, already mussed from the helmet. “What’s with the shit-eating grin Blake? Yang’s your friend, of course she talks about you.” Coco laughed.

“Yeah well, I didn’t have a lot of friends before I moved here.”

“That’s a shame, you seem nice enough.” Velvet said with a surprised look on her face, only backed up by the tips of her ears smacking off of Coco’s chin. “Well you’re here now, hanging out with the football team, you just skipped up the popularity chain.” Coco winked and took a step back from Velvet as she stood up.

“We should go, but we’ll see you later!” Velvet grinned as she led Coco by the hand back to the changing rooms. Coco saluted her mockingly and Blake gave them a weak wave goodbye. She turned back in time to see Yang stretching as she walked towards her, the impressive muscles on the girls arms and abdomen would put any body builder to shame.

“Told you you’d be swooning.” Yang beamed. Blake realised now that she was staring and pouted like a child, her cheeks dusting over with a pink she was becoming familiar with around her new friends. “So? How well do you think I did?” The blonde asked, her wide grin closing in on something softer now.

“I mean, if you call running in front of people to get tackled for them a victory then I will too.”

“Guess I’m pretty great then.” Yang feigned arrogance as she pretended to dust off her shoulders and check her nails. Blake rolled her eyes and laughed. The blonde gently kicked Blake’s foot to grab her attention again.

“Hey, want me to drive you home?” Yang said as she leaned down to pick up Blake’s bag like she had done earlier. Blake was taken aback, although she had expected the question to come up of ‘how’ she was getting home, but she never knew Yang drove. “U-Uh, yeah, _thanks_.” She said, her ears pinning back from embarrassment.

“Come with me to grab my stuff then we’ll get going.” Yang said and Blake happily followed her along.

The raven haired girl ended up waiting outside the locker room but luckily Yang didn’t take too long, although she did come out with a redder face than what she’d went in with. Blake half smirked, one of her ears perking up in curiosity. “What’s going on with you?” The faunus asked as they began walking.

“Y’know, they say curiosity killed the cat.”M

“Are you saying that whatever you’re embarrassed over would kill me?”

“ _Maybe_.” Yang wriggled her eyebrows at her and Blake giggled, pushing her lightly. They walked in a comfortable silence, reaching the exit to the school, Yang held her hand out, gesturing for Blake to wait. So the raven haired girl put her trust in her, she waited. Yang took a few steps outside, looking around for something, before finally gesturing for Blake to follow her.

“What’re you doing?” Blake asked as they walked along the path to the parking lot. Yang shook her head. “Nothing, don’t worry.” Blake didn’t press any further.

They stepped into the parking lot. Blake immediately starting searching around for Yang’s car. “So which one’s yours?” The faunus said, her head still swivelling around as she tried to guess which one it was. “This one.” Yang said and pointed straight ahead of her. Blake couldn’t believe her eyes.

“You drive a _motorcycle_?!” Blake spluttered. She should’ve saw this coming, Yang seemed to be a person who lived on the edge. Edge of her seat, edge of the table, and apparently just that edge that separates life and death. “You surprised?” Yang gave her the biggest shit eating grin as she strapped her duffel bag onto the back of the bike.

Blake took a moment to slip both straps of her backpack onto her shoulders, deciding it would be a terrible idea to wear it on one shoulder like she normally did. Yang swung her leg over the bike and stuck her keys in, revving up the engine as she shot a proud look back at Blake. The raven haired girl could already feel the blush creeping onto her face.

She gulped, followed Yang’s lead, climbing onto the bike behind her. She felt at a loss with her arms dangling. She knew she was supposed to hold on but... maybe she couldn’t take that today.

“You gotta hold on tight Blakey.” She could hear the smugness in Yang’s voice. Blake took a breath and looped her arm’s around Yang’s stomach, holding on as tightly as she could without making Yang uncomfortable. “I’ll drive slow for you, alright?” The blonde said as she kicked the kickstand up with her heel. Blake nodded against Yang’s back.

She began to drive out of the parking lot and Blake didn’t take long to relax into it. She placed her head on Yang’s shoulder to watch as they drove, giving her directions back to her house. She never thought, in a million years, that driving on a motorcycle would be peaceful. Yet here she was, giggling and blushing, being driven around as a passenger on a motorcycle, having the time of her life.

The bike came to a stop in front of her house, she saw her mother standing at the window and she felt Yang tense up. “Is your mom gonna kill me for bringing you home late?” She said jokingly, leaning back on the bike now that Blake had hopped off of it.

“No, she’ll probably be relieved that you drove me home honestly...” Blake said, smiling as she fidgeted with the collar on her jacket-

“Oh I forgot I was wearing this!” Blake tossed her bag to the floor and began to unbutton the jacket. Yang laughed and held her hands out to try and stop her. “No, _no_ don’t, it looks good on you, just give me it back later, yeah?” Yang stammered in an attempt to try assure Blake to keep it on. Blake’s ears stood on end. 

“You think it looks good on me?” She said teasingly, leaning forward with a seductive look, purposefully licking her lips. “Would it look even better off?” Blake continued, Yang blushed and pushed her back by the shoulder with a laugh.

Blake folded her arms and looked down, kicking at a stray stone on the pavement. She didn’t want Yang to go just yet. She knew she could text or call but... she just wanted her to be here right now. Here in front of her. Yang smiled gently, biting her tongue.

“Are you gonna be alright? With trying to get away from Adam I mean.” Yang said, her smile dropping almost instantly. Blake nodded an little and looked down at her feet, she shuffled them. “I hate that he’s doing this to me, I just feel...” she looked left and right, checking down the street in case he was there.

“ _Paranoid_?”

“Yeah, _kind of._ ” Blake was at a loss for words really. She was starting to regret blocking his number. Maybe then he wouldn’t be following her around. But then again maybe Yang was right, maybe earlier she’d thrown him off and he had went off elsewhere. She looked along the street again to check if he was there. Then again, maybe he hadn’t went somewhere else. Maybe he was just waiting.

“Would you... what if I started picking you up in the morning then taking you home again at night.” Yang gulped, Blake was taken aback, again, by how far Yang’s kindness extended. “That’s not fair, I can’t ask you to do that.” Blake shook her head, a sad smile on her face. 

“What about just till this thing with Adam blows over?” Blake looked up at Yang, who was giving her the most sincere look she had ever seen. “Blake, I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you when I could’ve been looking out for you.”

She liked that choice of words. Most people would’ve said ‘protecting you’ or ‘keeping you safe’. But that was different, it showed she didn’t view Blake as weak. As just a victim of a bad breakup. For someone who was terrible at English, she really had a way with words that got to Blake’s heart.

“Would... would that be okay? Just till this is over? I don’t wanna put you out-“

“Blake, I offered, I wanna do this.” Yang said, reaching out and taking hold of Blake’s wrists, rubbing circles at her pulse, trying to convey that she meant what she was saying, that she wasn’t like Adam; she was better. She didn’t expect anything in return or have an agenda behind it. Yang just wanted to know she was going to be safe. “Okay... _thank you_.” She breathed. Yang smiled tenderly.

It was then that she realised how close to Yang she’d walked without even realising it, she was still letting Yang hold onto her wrists, the blonde’s grip was loose, letting her know she could walk away. She didn’t. She just stood there, looking down at her dumbly. Blake looked down from Yang’s eyes, to her lips, and licked her own.

She leaned her head down slightly, tilted her head, she closed her eyes-

**_BZZZ BZZZ_ **

She jumped backwards at the sound of a phone vibrating loudly. Yang sighed and pulled it out of her pocket, holding it up to her ear. Blake couldn’t hear her talking. Well, she could, but she just couldn’t hear her over the sounds of her own thoughts running rampant.

‘ _Why the hell did I just do that?! What am I doing?!_ ’ Blake awkwardly shuffled back up onto the pavement, gripping at the insides of her pockets as she moved around. ‘ _What’s wrong with me?! A few acts of kindness and you’re acting like this?!’_ Blake screamed internally when she looked back and saw Yang’s bicep.

‘ _This isn’t right, aren’t you straight? Apparently not anymore!’_ She gripped her own shoulder this time in an attempt to ground herself. She looked up at Yang again, she was tucking her phone back into her pocket now. “Listen, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll text you when I got home, ‘kay?” Yang smiled, sitting forward to grip onto the handlebars now.

“Y-Yeah, _cool_ , talk to you later then!” Blake said, trying to play it cool as if she wasn’t having a mental breakdown at whatever she had just almost done. Yang nodded and winked at her, accompanied by a charming smile, before driving off down the street. 

Blake watched her as she drove off, the tyres on her bike rolling smoothly over the ground. Blake shook her head. What was she doing? Like at all.

“Was that Yang?-“

“ _ **AHHH**_ -“ Blake jumped into the air, the way she jumped away resembled that of a startled cat, which only amused her mother, who had snuck up on her. “ _Mom_! Stop doing that to me!” Blake groaned as she covered her face with her hands, wishing she had ears like Velvet’s so she could hide whenever whenever she liked.

“Stop doing what?”

“ _Embarrassing_ me.”

“Embarrassing you in front of who?”

“In front of _God_.”

“Since when do you believe in God?”

Both woman stopped their constant back and forth, staring at each other for a silent moment. They both burst into laughter. Blake muffled her laughs behind her hand, the other hand tugging on the jacket she was wearing to support herself. The laughing began to die off, giving way to a tender moment between a mother and daughter. That warmed Blake’s heart a little. Her mother sighed and gestured for both of them to go inside.

“Did you kiss her?”

“You’re ruining it.” 

* * *

Blake was alone in her room, lying on her bed watching TV, standard weekend stuff. She couldn’t stop thinking about earlier, what she’d almost done, what she’d actually thought of doing. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on whatever sitcom she was watching. 

Her phone buzzed and she immediately jolted her arm to grab it. Her thinking didn’t last longer did it? 

> **Yang:** hey wyd 
> 
> **Blake** : nothing, literally
> 
> **Yang:** my jacket comfy ;) 
> 
> **Blake:** it really is. better be careful xiao long or I might just keep it 
> 
> **Yang:** there’s a party at my friend suns place on sunday, u wanna come with? 
> 
> **Blake:** yeah sounds fun 
> 
> **Yang:** nice, i’ll pick you up at eight 

Blake smiled to herself as she continued typing away on her phone, exchanging messages back and forth to Yang. Guess there was going to be some excitement to her weekend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading, I got bored and wanted to writer another chapter so here you go! Anyways thanks for the support it means a lot, I’ll do my best :D


	3. It’s Not A House Party, It’s An Intimate Get Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake is forced to speak with Adam, before Yang drags her to a house party. It’s fluffy and cute, like Blake’s ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I made the SDC a pharmaceutical company in this, so dust is like a medicinal drug but... y’know. I haven’t got into it yet but I will in the next couple chapters.

Admittedly, Blake had never been to a party before. Sure she’d been to some of the White Fang’s parties but that was more of a... sitting in a field drinking type of thing. Which was sad in its own right because sitting in a field, tucked under Adam’s arm and locked into conversation with Ilia whilst you drank your life away wasn’t exactly fun.

“You’ve _seriously_ never been to a party before?” Yang’s voice blared through her earphones. Blake shrugged, even though Yang couldn’t see her “No, I told you I never used to have a lot of friends.” She giggled shyly.

“ _Well_ , you don’t have to wear anything fancy, but don’t wear something that makes you look like you’ve just woke up.”

Blake made a mental check of everything she knew was in her wardrobe, pulling up an outfit in her mind. Good, that meant she didn’t need to buy new clothes, she could just spend her money on books and booze. A deadly combination.

“Want me to bring your jacket back tomorrow?”

“Nah it’s fine, just give me it back at school.”

”Giving it back on Monday it is.”

“ _Okaaayyy then~_ ” she sang, causing Blake to giggle. She walked into the book store the frequented, before realising that she wasn’t supposed to be on the phone in here. “I gotta go but, I’ll call you later.” Yang mumbled a reply, sounding disappointed as she hung up. 

Blake tucked her phone back into her jacket pocket, enjoying the yellow details of the buttons. Yes, she was wearing Yang’s jacket, but only because that was the only one that was conveniently available. She ran her finger along the spine of a book she picked up, her ears pinned back and her eyes narrowed as she searched through the titles for something new.

She had to keep in mind that she only had twenty lien, and also had to buy something to drink for the next night so... only one book it was then. Still, she browsed through the mess of books that ranged from either being piled up on the floor or filled the shelf’s in a miscellaneous order.

She shivered.

Blake looked up, looking around her at all angles, even looking through the bookshelf. There was no one here except from the store clerk and herself. ‘ _Calm down Blake, you’re fine._ ’ She closed her eyes, mentally reassuring herself. She took a breath, held it in, let it half out.

Walking over to the desk, the store clerk silently rung her up and handed over the receipt and a small plastic bag to carry the book inside. She walked down the street, the same strange shiver running down her spine again. She looked around, she couldn’t see anyone.

She began walking faster, she hated this, she hated how she felt like Adam could turn up at any moment, she hated how he probably would.

She spun into a coffee shop, tucked away in the corner of the street. There were no flashy signs or huge windows so it was secluded enough that she could hide in here. She ordered some tea and took a seat. The place was filled to the brim with human and faunus alike, so she wasn’t as easy to spot at her table in the back, just out of view from the window. She just looked like a girl on her phone, drinking tea.  
  


> **Nora:** so u don’t want to go to sun’s?
> 
> **Ren:** u already know I don’t
> 
> **Pyrrha:** but it’ll be fun
> 
> **Weiss:** no it won’t. It’ll be u guys making fun of me for getting drunk too fast.
> 
> **Yang:** would we be wrong tho :3 
> 
> **Nora:** not our fault ur a lightweight
> 
> **Nora:** \\(*o*)/
> 
> **Yang:** \\(‘w^)/ 
> 
> **Blake:** do u guys not have actual emojis or do u just like making them up?
> 
> **Weiss:** the exact question I’ve had on my mind for months 
> 
> **Yang:** my girl siding with the ice queen :’( 
> 
> **Nora:** she stole her :’( 
> 
> **Weiss:** she’s not your girl she’s a girl recovering from getting drunk in a field every weekend for years 
> 
> **Blake:** SHUT UP
> 
> **Yang:** THIS IS WHY YOU DONT SIDE WITH THE ICE QUEEN

Blake’s heart stopped and she snapped her head up from her phone when she heard the chair across from her being pulled back. 

Her heart pounded even harder when she saw Adam with a neutral expression on his face take the seat. He sighed and forced a smile from one half of his mouth as he clasped his hands out in front of him. She knew he was angry. She could see it, _feel it_.

“What’s going on with your phone? It keeps going straight to voicemail.” Adam said, his tone lowered purposefully so he wouldn’t feel the urge to shout. Blake gulped and shrugged, shaking her head. “I don’t know, it won’t let me text or call anyone but I can use my social media just fine.” Good excuse, now to erase the fact she was nervous as all hell.

“You should’ve called me and told me. I was _just_ about ready to swing by your house to check up on you.” She hated that kind lilt to his voice that he held right now because she knew it was an act to let outsiders think he was the good guy here.

“I know, _I’m sorry_. It’s just that I’ve been doing a lot of school stuff and hanging out with friends-“

“ _Friends_? Which _friends_? Who are they?”

Shit. _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._

“They’re just friends from school, I can’t _only_ hang out with you.” Blake growled, trying to make herself look like she had some sort of control over this conversation. “ _I told you_ they were all fascists in there, you should look out for yourself, _I don’t care_ if you have to sit alone for a few hours a week.” Adam realised he was leaning further over the table and stopped himself, pulling back to lean against the back of the chair.

Adam stood up, flashing a charming smile to a woman at the next table, who only glared at Blake because of it. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.” He mumbled, reaching out and grabbing her bag and walking away before she could react. “Have you _ever_ considered that I might be meeting a friend here?” Blake said, jogging after him.

He stopped outside the door and stared into her soul. Adam was much taller than her, looming over her at his full height. He never said a word, only pushed her with the palm of his hand to get moving. She relented, climbing into his car. It was _fine_. This would all be over in a moment or two.

The drive was silent, apart from the blood thrumming in her ears or the purr of the engine that desperately needed fixed. This car could be on fire and Adam would refuse to pay someone to fix it. He thinks it’s ‘ _too much like slavery_ ’ because he has _no_ concept of what it’s like to have a job and not be the leader of a cult.

She didn’t like the looks he kept giving her, how he would tilt his head just to see what she was doing. He stopped at the lights. There were no other cars around. God he was going to let lose wasn’t he?

“ _What’s your deal Blake?_ You acting like this breaks my heart you know. All I’m asking is for you to be loyal to _me_ , loyal to _our_ cause-“

“ _Adam, what the hell are you talking about?_ ”

“ _I’m_ talking about _you_ , going off to _your_ new school and thinking _you’re_ some big shot because you hang out with the girls on the football team.”

“You realise how _creepy_ that sounds when I haven’t told you who my friends are don’t you?!” Blake barked. She knew there was no point staying silent until she got home now. If she was arguing and getting away from him for good, it was happening now. No dragging it out any longer.

“Well maybe _I_ wouldn‘t have to go find out who they are myself if _you_ just communicated with me!”

“ _I_ didn’t tell _you_ because _you’re a psycho_ who would’ve _stalked_ them, the same way you’ve been _stalking_ _me_ _for a week!_ ”

“I had to! You wouldn’t answer your phone!”

“Take the hint, I _want_ to break up with you Adam!” Her breath caught in her lungs when she said that, she saw the look of complete disbelief on his face. Maybe he thought she would stay forever. Maybe he thought he’d done nothing wrong. No, she saw the look of anger in his eyes now. He knew what he was doing, he just thought she was too weak to leave on her own.

“Who’s jacket are you wearing?” He said lowly, as he drove the car forward, pulling into a free spot on the curb side. She gulped, she had to think about this carefully, or else she could get Yang in trouble here too. “My friend just gave me their jacket because I forgot mine. Stop looking for meaning where there is none.” She said, although she undoubtedly knew he wasn’t buying that story.

“You’re really going to break up with me? When _I need you?_ ” He was fuming now. This is where it went wrong the last time she tried this back in Menagerie. It was the guilt trip that got her. But this time was different. Mainly because she knew this part was coming but also because she knew this was her chance to start again.

“ _Yes_ ,” she said breathlessly “yeah, I’am, you’re on your own now Adam.” She reached her hand out, grabbing the door handle, she opened the door and grabbed her bag as quickly as she could, walking down the street just as faster. She just needed to get away from him. As far away as possible. She pulled out her phone to take her minds off of things. 

> **Yang:** her cat ears r so expressive
> 
> **Nora:** isn’t that racist?
> 
> **Yang:** oh shit ur right
> 
> **Weiss:** wonder where she went
> 
> **Jaune:** totes messing up the gc vibes
> 
> **Pyrrha:** Jaune never say totes again
> 
> **Blake:** sorry guys something came up and I don’t think it’s racist
> 
> **Jaune:** u guys remember when coco said that velvet would look good as a playboy bunny and got smacked 
> 
> **Yang:** yes because I also got smacked for dressing like hugh hefner for halloween the next day

Blake smiled at her screen and slid her phone back inside her pocket. She just wanted tomorrow night to come faster so she could forget all about this. So she could replace all her thoughts.  
  


> **Yang:** need me to get you smfn to drink for tomoz?
> 
> **Blake:** yeh please, i’ll give you the money tomorrow
> 
> **Yang:** wot u want to drink?
> 
> **Blake:** if i give u a budget of 12 lien will u surprise me?
> 
> **Yang:** yes
> 
> **Blake:** then do that

* * *

Blake stood checking herself in the mirror again. She wore a cropped lilac sweatshirt, that was adjustable at the bottom, so she tightened it. Her ripped black jeans rode high on her waist, hugging onto her and showing off every curve. Her makeup was... nothing special. _At all_.

She grabbed her phone, skipping down the stairs, accidentally bumping her arm against the wall. Her mother gave her a quizzical look, before settling on a soft smile. “You’re still going to that party?” He asked, his smile switching and faltering.

“Yeah, besides Yang’s outside right now so-“

“How could you _possibly ever refuse_.”

“Okay, _bye_ mom.” Blake said quickly as she bolted out the door before her mother could keep on going with her barrage of embarrassment. Yang had her legs swung over the side of her bike, smiling at her. She wore a black varsity jacket and a yellow t-shirt, her plaid pants hung slightly loose over her legs.

Blake blushed and giggled to herself. She felt like she was in a romcom.

She gulped, wondering what to say to her in the moment. She was aware she was acting awkwardly because she had nothing new to say... _actually_.

“ _So,_ I broke up with Adam earlier-“

“ _Seriously_? _That’s great_!” Yang said, a bit too excitedly. She blushed and cleared her throat “I mean, that’s great, you’re away from _that_ asshole.”

Blake giggled and wrapped her arms around herself. “Yeah well, at least I don’t need to be alone after having to talk to him earlier.” She laughed bitterly. Yang frowned, barely, but she frowned nonetheless. She wiped off that frown, replacing it with a bright smile. “Well I’ll make sure to give you my _full, undivided attention_ then.” Blake giggled lightly.

Yang swung her legs back around on the bike and waited for Blake to get on, she tightened her grip on the handlebars when Blake’s arms tightened around her waist. The faunus kept her breathing neutral, pretending that her heart wasn’t beating a mile a minute.

Yang informed Blake that Sun’s house was relatively close to Yang’s, and by that she meant down the street, so leaving her bike parked here wasn’t a problem. As soon as they arrived, Blake could see a variety of things, all of which she assumed was against the law.

She stayed close to Yang as they walked inside, walking over to their group of friends who were standing near the back wall. They looked like the VIPs of the party. Yang excused herself to go to the kitchen, which left Blake to stand with Weiss and two other boys she hadn’t met.

“You’re Blake right?” One of the boys said, she made a mental note of how his shirt hung open and he was absolutely _shredded_. “Uh, yeah, _I’am_.” She smiled, nervous for some reason.

“I’m Sun, Yang said you were cu-“

Weiss kicked him in the stomach, causing him to double over.

“And I’m Neptune.” The boy next to him said with a charming smile and a wave. Blake giggled at how they were like the comedy relief of the group, so to speak. “It’s nice to meet you guys.” She giggled at how Sun’s only response was to stick his thumb up, clearly still winded from Weiss’ kick.

“Neptune, _why_ are you dressed like that?” Weiss wiggled her finger at him as she pointed. Blake had to admit, she had a point. He was wearing plaid pants like Yang’s except there was a chain hanging from the side of them, and his hoodie was half tucked into his trousers.

“He’s going for that e-boy look.” Blake nudged her arm and Weiss giggled. “Well it’s working, but the blue hair makes him look more friendly emo than e-boy.” Neptune pouted at the two girls as they laughed at his dismay.

Blake swivelled her head around, looking around at everyone at the party. There were people everywhere, although it was hard to tell who was who with the lights turned down so low. There were already stains on the walls and empty bottles beginning to litter the side cabinets.

She looked back to Sun, who was just as bright and cheerful as his name, with his arm wrapped around Neptune’s neck, trying to sell him to a cat-faunus girl who just walked in. The girl looked amused at first before seeing something more amusing, she moved into the crowd of people.

“Hey Blake!” Ruby said, walking towards them with two red cups in her hands and Pyrrha & Jaune trailing behind her. She handed one to Weiss and smiled at Blake. “Yang’s just coming, she’s got a drink for you.” Blake nodded at her, not really knowing what to say in reply.

Jaune grinned, his cheeks a rosy red, he was clearly already drunk. His arm was swung around Pyrrha’s shoulders and she rolled her eyes at Blake to emphasise her annoyance. “He’s a lightweight.” Pyrrha grimaced. Blake raised her eyebrow “And you?”

“I don’t drink.”

“That’s not surprising, you’re like the mom of the group.”

“Well then she’s a _milf_ to me!” Jaune blurted out, laughing hysterically to himself. Pyrrha’s face turned as red as her hair and she tilted her head to look at Jaune who looked just as shocked at what he’d said. Blake bit her bottom lip, trying to stifle the laugh that was beginning to bubble up. “ _I’m so sorry_ , I don’t know _why_ I said that.” Pyrrha stomped furiously through the party, dragging Jaune along with her as they passed by Sun, talking to the same cat-faunus girl she’d saw before.

Blake felt a nudge on her shoulder and she turned to see Yang with a smile on her face, holding a cup out for Blake. “How much do I owe you?” Blake said, Yang shook her head. “Nothing.”

“I’m not going to let you pay for this.”

“Fine, then you can get it next time. Does that suit you?”

“ _Perfect_ ,” she nodded in Ruby’s direction, gesturing for Yang to look too. Ruby was wearing a varsity jacket similar to Yang’s except it was black with red leather sleeve and the name ‘summer rose’ was stitched in red into the material above where her heart sat. “Is it a family thing? Wearing jackets like that?”

“Kind of. My family were all some sort of star at school- I guess you could say they were the popular kids.”

“Which _naturally_ meant you and Ruby would also be-“ Yang began laughing, causing Blake to grin “the popular jocks too.” Yang shrugged threw her arm over Blake’s shoulders. The faunus took a drink from her cup and smiled up at Yang, expecting her to say something soon.

“Kind of a _cliche_ really, isn’t it?”

Blake raised her eyebrow at her. “What are you talking about?” She laughed.

“The nerd falls in love with a golden hearted jock.” She smirked into her cup, taking a drink to hide the blush that Blake could clearly see rising on Yang’s cheeks. “Did you just call me a nerd?” Blake giggled, looking up at her.

“So you’re admitting that you’ve fallen for me?”

“No, I’m just more insulted by being called a nerd.”

“Fair enough Blakey.” Yang winked at her and Blake blushed, taking another drink from her cup so she could pretend that it was the alcohol. She watched as Yang looked at her with a sort of glazed over look, she felt her hand shift from her shoulder, up the side of her head. She expected something stupid, like for her to touch her hair or her cheek.

Instead Yang scratched behind her cat ear, causing her to let out an audible sigh- bordering on a purr.

She smacked her free hand over her mouth which only made Yang burst out laughing, not attempting to remove her hand from its position behind Blake’s ear. Blake folded her arm over her abdomen, pouting up at Yang. “You’re a jerk.” She hissed.

Yang only flashed a dopey smile back at her. “Sorry, sorry it’s just that...” she looked lost for words for a moment “Your ears are _cute_ y’know, sorry is that offensive?” She winced. Blake laughed and shook her head, how could she be mad at a compliment. “No you’re good, don’t worry.” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her human ear.

Blake looked the blonde up and down. Suddenly her mouth was dry, brain empty, only filled with the urge to smile and laugh. She was _nervous_? She took a long drink from her cup again to buy her time, although it did burn her throat. She watched as Yang took a step back to lean against the wall, Blake instinctively stepping with her.

“Did you meet Sun and Neptune?” Yang asked, she must’ve noticed Blake’s sudden nervousness too. “Y-Yeah, they seemed nice. Neptune has this whole _cool and trendy_ thing going on whilst Sun is more of a surfer dude.”

“Yeah, Sun has the urge to show off his muscles and Neptune is just bisexual.”

Blake narrowed her eyes and nodded with a satisfied look on her face “Yeah, I can see that.” Both of them laughed at each other, Yang playfully pushing Blake’s shoulder before taking another drink from her cup. Realising it was empty now, Yang pouted at her cup and looked back up at Blake. “Wanna come for a refill?” She asked. Blake nodded and shook her cup to signal that it was also empty.

They strolled over to the kitchen, Yang methodically moving around in the dim light, picking up a bottle with a huge label on it that read ‘Yang’s’. Blake waited beside her and watched as Nora walked up with a mischievous grin on her face. Nora tapped Yang on the shoulder “Look who’s here.” She said, throwing her head backwards.

Yang hummed and looked in the direction of where Nora had gestured, only to look completely stunned. Blake furrowed her brow and followed her gaze, which landed on the _same_ faunus girl she’d seen before. “Hey Neon...” Yang said weakly, waving sheepishly at her. She picked up the cup and turned to lean on the countertop, her eyes not leaving Neon once.

There was a strange burning sensation in Blake’s stomach when she saw this. Her eyes flicked over to see Weiss and Ruby, standing next to the doorway watching the awkward exchange go down. Weiss flicked her eyebrows at Blake and Ruby smiled weakly. Blake looked back at Neon, her eyes raking up and down her features. ‘ _Okay, she is kinda hot..._ ’ Blake thought, and the burning sensation grew more intense.

She looked back at Yang, who was still staring. “Aren’t you pouring me a drink?” Blake said cheekily, raising her eyebrow and making sure her smirk matched the sass in her tone. Yang nodded slightly “Yeah, don’t worry.” Yang didn’t look at her, or pour her a drink. That just made the burning worse.

Blake’s ears shot back in annoyance and she gritted her teeth, she could see Ruby snickering out of the corner of her eye. Without barely thinking, she reached up, cupping Yang’s cheek. “ _Hey,_ ” she said softly, and that somehow got Yang’s _full_ attention. The blonde’s head turned to meet Blake’s. the raven haired girl had her face barely inches away from Yang’s, her eyelids droopy.

“I thought I was getting your full attention?” Blake said lowly, her face slowly inching closer with each passing second. “You’ve got it.” Yang said, lowly, placing her hand on Blake’s waist. Blake was aware that all of her friends and Neon were watching in awe of Blake’s boldness. Yang closed her eyes, her lips parting when she felt the brush of Blake’s nose, then...

Blake swiped the cup out of Yang’s hand and quickly stepped back. Yang’s eyes shot open, feeling at a complete loss for... _anything_ really. “ _What the-_ “ she saw Blake looking at her, her gaze thrown over her shoulder as she took a drink from what used to be Yang’s cup. “Should’ve been paying attention.” Blake winked and smirked before leaving the kitchen entirely.

Yang’s face lit up red, reduced to a stuttering mess. Weiss, Ruby and Nora collectively burst into laughter. Yang was used to being smooth, so she was always the one on the teasing end, never the one being teased. She looked over at Neon, who’s mouth was agape with shock.

“Oh. My. _God_!” Neon squealed excitedly, bolting over to Yang and grabbing her shoulders. “ _Who_ is your little girlfriend?! _She’s so feisty!_ ” Neon giggled with a gleam in her eyes. Yang’s blush deepened.

“S-She’s not my _girlfriend_ -“

“Well _whoever_ she is, you’re in _wayyyyy_ over your head.”

Yang looked out the kitchen, watching Blake sitting on the edge of the sofa casually chatting away to Velvet and Coco, she threw glance towards Yang and took a sip from her cup.

“You might be right...” Yang sighed.

Weiss couldn’t hold in the snort of a laugh she had any longer, it spilled out of her lips as did the laugh from Ruby who stood beside her. “S-Sorry, it’s just that I got that all on video for Snapchat-“

“ ** _WEISS_ , DON’T YOU DARE!**”

“ **WEISS QUICK GIVE ME YOUR PHONE, I’M THE TRACK CHAMP REMEMBER!** ” 

Yang ended up chasing Ruby around Sun’s house, trying and failing to grab Weiss’ phone multiple times, all the while Blake sat there on the sofa with a satisfied smile on her face. Neon couldn’t help but smile at Blake’s sass.

The two faunus’ locked eyes and Blake made a show of finishing off her drink, licking her lips after she was done. Neon’s heart skipped a beat and if that was happening to her, then she _knew_ Yang was _definitely_ in for a wild ride. 

* * *

The party began to die down at around... _two_ in the morning? _Three_ in the morning? No one could really say for sure, the people who remained in the house were cleaning up whilst they waited for their phones to charge.

Blake couldn’t say she was sober enough to be cleaning, but she was still making a good attempt. She bent over, picking up two empty bottles and tossing them into the black bag she was using to throw trash into. Her vision swayed and she stumbled sideways, laughing as she banged against the counter, not feeling a thing when the wood connected with her ribs.

She couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up and erupting from her as she twisted, leaning back against the counter to support herself. She hadn’t been this drunk in a long time. The last time she was this drunk she was stealing dust from pharmacies with the white fang...

Her laugh faltered and dissipated into a frown. She looked over at the counter, finding a half empty bottle of Jin. ‘ _He loved this..._ ’ she thought as she twisted the cap off of it. Before she had a chance to lift it to her lips, a hand grabbed at the bottle, pulling it from her hands without much trouble.

“You’re help’s appreciated, but I think you might wanna go crash now.” Sun’s cheerful voice said. He took the bag from Blake’s hand, tossing the bottle of Jin inside of it. Blake pouted but she didn’t argue against going to take a seat and relax instead of cleaning.

Weiss was sitting on the sofa scrolling through her phone whilst leaning back against Ruby, who was half asleep, she noticed that Weiss was wearing Ruby’s jacket. Blake sat down on the arm of the sofa, trying not to fall backwards ‘ _They are actually kind of cute..._ ’ she thought, she swayed and threw her hand out to grip onto the seat cushion.

She smiled sheepishly when Weiss looked up at her. “So _are_ you guys dating?” Blake mentally smacked herself for blurting that out. Weiss blushed and her mouth fell open slightly. Weiss took a breath in, attempting to recompose herself. “No, we’re not...” she twisted her head sideways, gently shaking Ruby’s shoulder to keep her awake.

“ _Besides_ , Ruby’s not into romance.” Weiss shrugged and Blake swore she looked disappointed. Ruby smirked “True _but_...” Ruby sat up slightly, before taking Weiss’ chin between her thumb and forefinger. “For you, maybe I’ll try.” She said lowly. Weiss’ face turned bright red and she visibly gulped.

A bright flash caused them all to snap their heads towards the direction it came from, only to see Yang snapping a picture of them on her phone. “That’s payback for earlier!” Yang laughed, stuffing her phone in her pocket. Weiss pushed Ruby’s face away and picked up a pillow, tossing it at Yang.

The two sisters bellowed out a laugh, causing Blake to smirk as well. Weiss grabbed the lapels of Ruby’s jacket, pulling it up so that she could tuck her face into the jacket and hide herself. “ _You guys are jerks..._ ” she whimpered.Blake scooted over to sit next to Weiss and gave her a sympathetic pat on the back.

Weiss untucked her face from the jacket and leaned onto Blake, who was glaring up at Yang and pouting. “It’s okay, you’ll get through this.” Blake cooed, wrapping her arms around Weiss’ shoulders. Yang pouted “Don’t take her side, she’s _the ice queen!_ ”

“You’re so _cruel_ Yang!” Ruby whine and fell forward, tossing her arms around Weiss’ neck “ _Have mercy on her!_ ”

Blake looked up at Yang with a half smirk on her face and flicked her eyebrows “Three against one Yang, _what’s it gonna be?_ ” Yang smiled softly and took a few steps towards them, she gently lowered herself down and spread her arms out till she was straddling Weiss’ lap. Yang was, undoubtedly, the heaviest _and_ tallest out of the four of them, so it wasn’t hard for her to have the other three trapped under her.

They all giggled, Weiss slapped Yang’s chest to try and get her to budge, but alas, she didn’t. Yang lifted her head up, her eyes widening when she realised that the four of them were so close to each other. It was nice in a way. She tilted her head to look at Blake and grinned “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, _right_?” Blake smiled softly “ _Yeah..._ ” she said, biting her own bottom lip as she smiled. 

“If you two kiss, _inches_ away from _my face_ , I _will_ beat up both of you.” 

Blake blushed and tilted her head away, shimmying out of their little huddle, Yang only grinned and pushed herself up off of them. “I’m sure that’s how every great porno starts.” Sun said from the kitchen doorway. The four of them began searching for their phones and getting ready to leave. That comment was the last straw for Weiss as she strolled around ranting to herself. 

Yang nodded at Blake “Want me to walk you home? What with...” she waved her hand around, trying to find the words to say. Blake giggled and nodded back at her “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“ _Cool..._ ”

* * *

Blake and Yang parted ways with Ruby and Weiss at the bottom of the street. She was aware she was starting to sober up now, mainly because her vision wasn’t blurry and she could walk without swaying, but also because she was starting to realise what she’d done earlier to spite Neon. A girl she didn’t know _at all_. 

‘ _Jesus, I look like a jealous bitch..._ ’

There was a gust of wind and Blake wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to leave without a jacket...

“Here, put this on.” Yang said, already shrugging off her jacket. “No it’s fine.” Blake shook her head and giggled. Yang however continued to take off her jacket and held it out for Blake to take.

“Here just wear it.”

“ _Yang_ , I’ll be fine.”

“ _Pleeeaaasssse~_ ”

Blake chuckled and bit her lip, looking away from the blonde, she would only spur her on if she replied. Blake felt the jacket drape over her shoulders, it was warm and inviting. She couldn’t help but accept that it was staying on. 

“Is this gonna become a thing? Where you steal my jackets?”

“Stop giving them to me then!”

“ _But_...” Yang trailed off as she walked in front of her, walking backwards so she could look at Blake. “It looks good on you...” Yang murmured. Blake blushed and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her human ear “ _T-Thanks..._ ” she really bad to stop with the nervous ticks.

They walked in a comfortable silence all the way to Blake’s house, the street was eerily quiet at night, yet brightly lit from the street lamps. The only sound was their footsteps, their sneakers scuffing off of the ground.

Blake twisted around as she walked onto her driveway, Yang slowly following her with her hands jammed into her trouser pockets. “Did you have fun?” Yang asked, and suddenly Blake realised the height difference between them, her heart skipped a couple beats.

“Yeah, _thanks..._ for inviting me that is... I appreciate it.” Blake smiled softly and watched as Yang’s eyes lit up and she smiled back down at her. “You’re my friend, of course I’m gonna invite you to a party.” The blonde shrugged nonchalantly.

“Not _just_ that.” Blake shook her head. “You didn’t have to _pick_ me up, or _walk_ me home, or _give_ me your jacket.”

“Twice.”

“ _Twice,_ ” Blake repeated and they both giggled “But _you did_... and I appreciate that.” Blake smiled up at her, her fluttering her eyelashes. Yang blushed. Yang stepped forward, taking her right hand out of her pocket, lifting it up to cup Blake’s cheek.

“Yeah _well_ -“

They both jumped away from each other at the sound of curtain being pulled open, Blake saw Kali staring down at her with a disapproving gaze. She gulped.

“I-I’ll pick you up tomorrow- _for school!_ ” Yang said, smiling nervously as her eyes darted between Blake and Kali, who was still watching them. “Y-Yeah, _yes_! _Right_ , thanks...” Blake stammered, tripping over her own words. Yang began walking away and Blake suddenly realised that she still had her jacket.

“Wait, _Yang_!” She said, a little too loudly for the silent street, as it echoed her voice back at her. Yang spun around where she stood and Blake jogged over, pulling the jacket off of her shoulder. “Here, I’ll give you the other one tomorrow.”

“Yeah, thanks...” Yang smiled and reached her hand out to take her jacket, her fingers brushing lightly over Blake’s. A shiver went down the faunus’ spine. Yang took the jacket, tossing it over her shoulder before walking backwards down the street. “I’ll pick you up at eight.” Yang winked at her.

“Yeah, see you then.” Blake said, allowing herself to look like a nervous wreck when Yang turned around to walk normally down the street.

She looked up at saw her mom ‘awing’ at her from the window.

This was embarrassing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooop thanks for reading guys, I’m having fun writing this because y’know, this is my first rwby hiatus and I’ve became bumbleby trash so... 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed and any & all criticism is appreciated. I mostly just like the attention iwl.


	4. Do Two Blonde’s Make A Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake wakes up with a hangover and has the strangest day talking about blondes and feelings. Y’know like a normal kid.

So, _maybe_ heavily drinking, going to bed at four in the morning, then waking up at _seven_ to go to school (still tipsy might she add) wasn’t the _best_ idea ever.

Blake held her forehead in her hands as she sat at the kitchen table, her hair cascading over her face to hide her features. Her head was spinning and she could barely touch her breakfast in fear of vomiting everywhere. She knew she should just eat, even better, go make herself sick so she can get it over with.

Her mother sat across from her, with a smirk that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame, Ghira sat in the centre of them with a disappointed look on his face. Blake wasn’t surprised. After all these years she was still daddy’s little girl she supposed, so coming home that late, hammered, and her mother most likely telling him that Yang walked her home, could send a pang of guilt through even the most uncaring of people.

“ _How’re you feeling?_ ” She could hear the grin in her mother’s voice

“ _Fine_.” Blake snarled, her ears flinching as she lifted her head and winced at the room. When the world finally stopping spinning for a moment, she was able to turn her head to see her father glaring at her.

“ _Fine_? You don’t _sound_ fine.”

“Dad, _just_...” Blake heard her phone buzz and thanked whatever god was up there for Yang being early. She stood up, staggered, gripped the edge of the table to steady herself and felt so unbelievably embarrassed. Once she was completely steady she let go of the table and looked up, her amber eyes barely peering through her bags. “I’m gonna go to school now.”

“You could just take the day off-“

“No, _no_ Mom it’s fine, besides Yang’s outside anyway.” Blake waved her off and walked through her hallway as carefully as she could, grabbing her bag and Yang’s jacket. She heard her father call after her but by that point she was closing the door and giggling at Yang who stood against her bike with her hair haphazardly thrown into a bun and a pair of aviators covering her eyes.

“Are you sure you should even be driving?” Blake giggled as she walked towards the bike. Yang shrugged and Blake noticed how her eyebrow twitched as she winced at something. “I’ve drove blackout drunk before, this is a cake walk for me!” Yang bragged with a bright smile on her face. Blake rolled her eye and smiled.

“That’s not any better you know.” she held out the jacket in her hand “Also, I believe _this_ belongs to you.” Yang took the jacket and spun it around in her hand, before holding it close to her chest. “I’ll cherish this jacket even more now.” They both giggled.

Yang nodded her head “C’mon, hop on and hold tight.”

Blake couldn’t find any rational reason not to.

* * *

Blake quickly realised that she wasn’t used to being driven around on a motorcycle when she was hungover. She only realised that because after the third or fourth corner they’d turned around, she’d had to close her eyes and hold onto Yang even tighter than usual. 

Then she had another realisation when the bike finally came to a stop in the parking lot; she was going to throw up. 

As Yang was kicking down the kickstand, Blake swung her leg off of the bike and stumbled forward a few steps, doubling over as she began to vomit. 

“ _Shit_!” Yang hissed from behind her, jogging over to Blake as fast as she could. She gathered Blake’s hair in her hands, keeping it held away from her face. She ran her hand up and down Blake’s back in an attempt to soothe her. The vomiting stopped, leaving Blake’s chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. 

“S-Sorry... that usually doesn’t happen.” Blake chuckled. Yang reached into her pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, she held it out in front of Blake. “I don’t have any tissues or anything so, this is the best I can do right now.” The raven haired girl took the paper and wiped it over her mouth. 

Yang took a tiny step back from her, keeping her hand on Blake’s back. When Blake stood her hand remained, only it slid down to hold her waist. “Are you gonna be okay?” The blonde asked, Blake nodded with a wonky smile on her face. “I’ve got some gum in my pocket, so I should be fine.” Yang grinned and pulled away, walking over to her bike and grabbing both of their bags. The two of them walked inside, Yang following Blake to her locker. 

“I’ve got practice today but I can drop you off before it if you want, I know it’s a pain in the ass waiting for me.” Yang said, still clutching onto the bags over her shoulder. 

Blake shook her head “I don’t mind waiting for you besides,” she grinned and bumped her shoulder against the other girls “Makes me feel kinda special, being one of the only people waiting out on the bleachers.” 

“You look like someone’s girlfriend sitting out there.”

“ _Oh_?” She looked at Yang with a teasing smirk as she took her bag from her shoulder. “Who’s girlfriend Xiao-Long?” She couldn’t see the look in Yang’s eyes that normally gave her away, but she could see the tips of her ears tint red and knew she’d got a rise from her. 

She opened her locker, opening her bag to trade some things between the locker and her bag. She could see Yang grinning out of the corner of her eye. “That’s a tough question. There’s a few guys and gals out there who are into you.” Yang said and lifted her hand to her chin, pretending to be in thought. She couldn’t resist. She turned her head to look at Yang. 

“ _Actually_ , I’ve got a better question, what‘s your type Belladonna?” 

“How is _that_ a better question?”

“Because you’re such a _mystery_!” Blake giggled as she zipped up her bag. “So what’re you into? Brunettes?” Blake rolled her eyes. “No, not quite.”

“Does that mean yes?” They both laughed. Blake swung her bag over her shoulder, tilting her head and pretending to be in thought. “Not into brunettes as far as I know.”

“What about blondes?” Yang asked, folding her arms and moving to lean against the locker, only to miss and fall past the edge, almost banging her head off of the wall. Blake covered her mouth to stifle her laugh from being louder than it should’ve been. Then an idea popped into her head.

“Yeah, Sun’s pretty good looking.” She said, walking backwards away from Yang and the set of lockers. She bit her lip to repress the chuckle that threatened to slip out of her when she saw Yang scurrying to stand up straight after almost falling. Her aviators were half falling off of her face, revealing one of her lilac eyes.

“Did you say _Sun_?!”

The bell rang.

“See you in third period Yang!” 

* * *

“You guys are never gonna believe what Blake said earlier!” 

The group turned to stare at Blake and Yang walking towards their table. Yang with an odd expression on her face that couldn’t quite be discerned because of her sunglasses and Blake looked unbelievably smug. She felt it too. 

The raven haired girl sat down next to Weiss at the end of the table. “What did she say?” Coco asked, lowering her own pair of aviators and shooting a knowing look down the table at Blake. The faunus smirked, Coco must already know something.

“I was asking her what her type was and she said _Sun_ was _hot_!” Yang exclaimed, her hands held out in front of her, aimed at Coco “Can you believe that shit?” Coco shot another look back down at Blake, both of them smirking at each other. “No, _I can’t._ ”

Weiss turned her head towards Blake and mouthed “Are you messing with her?” Blake nodded. Weiss giggled and turned back around, leaning forward on her hand. “No Yang, I think I agree with Blake.” Weiss nodded and Blake noticed how Ruby perked up at her saying that.

Blake leaned forward on her hand as well “See Yang? There was just something about him.” Blake and Weiss both narrowed their eyes and looked at each other, nodding in agreement. Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other, biting their bottom lips and looking down, trying not to laugh.

“What... what is it you guys like about him?” Ruby gulped and Blake immediately felt terrible for letting Weiss join in on this joke. “I think it’s his abs.” Blake nodded.

“I have abs!” Yang said, realising she’d said it a little too loudly as the entire table turned to look at her. “ _Y’know_... just saying- _Ruby_! Wanna go for a run? It’s my free period next.”

“Uh... yeah _okay_?” Ruby said skeptically. Both sisters excused themselves with the grace of an elephant as they bumped into the table, each other and other people as they tried to get out of the situation.

Blake and Weiss burst out laughing, falling into each other as they couldn’t control their laughter. Pyrrha shook her head at them. “You two are _awful_.” Velvet perked up from her space next to Coco. “No, _Blake’s_ terrible, that was just my revenge on them from last night.” Weiss said, trying to control her giggles.

“I just like messing with Yang because she does it to me all the time.” Blake said with a soft smile. Weiss spun in her seat, sticking out a well manicured index finger, this meant she was about to rant. “They’re both _disgustingly_ cute, they almost _kissed_ _inches_ away from my face!”

“No we didn’t.” Blake rolled her eyes and bit the nail on her thumb nervously. The group giggled at Weiss’ outraged pout. “Yang drops you home doesn’t she?” Velvet said, flicking Coco with her ear as she tried to touch one of them.

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m always on library duty after school, you can come and help if you’d like. It’d save you from waiting on the bleachers.”

“Yeah, that sounds cool.” 

* * *

“Don’t you think the library is kinda cool though?” 

“Nerd.”

“Really though, inside that library are hundreds of literacy works that’ll outlive both of us; hundreds of stories that can tell you a lot about other people _and_ yourself.” Blake finished her rant, realising that Yang had stopped as well and was leaning back against the library door to open it. 

“Well when you put it like that, it sounds pretty cool.” Yang smiled softly at Blake, holding the door open for her. “Have you got a favourite book?” Yang asked, skipping forward to catch up with Blake as she walked into the library. 

“Have you ever read one hundred years of solitude?” 

“Yeah, I read it as my book assignment last year, but I honestly wasn’t paying attention to it.” Yang rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Blake chuckled and sat on top of one of the study tables. “Well, _that book_ , is my favourite. Because each time I read it, I come away with a different interpretation.”

“ _Really_?” Yang asked with a genuine curiosity, folding her arms across her chest and waiting for Blake to continue. 

“The first time I read it, I never understood the book, at all. The second time I read it, I realised that your imagination is just as important as reality; without imagination, nothing would have been invented. And now I’m reading it for a third time.” 

“ _Huh_...” Yang trailed off, her aviators had been pushed back to reveal her eyes. “Maybe I’ll read it again.” She said. The two of them smiled at each other, then turned to see Velvet walking towards them, raising an eyebrow at Yang. 

“No offence but why’re you here?” Velvet smirked, placing a stack of books down on the table next to Blake. The raven haired girls ears twitched at her words, she had a point. “Yeah actually, why _are_ you here?” Blake asked, giggling softly.

“I-I was just making sure you got here alright. Y-Y’know, just doing the decent thing.” Yang cleared her throat and smiled nervously. “I’ll come up and get you after practice.” She said, slowly walking backwards to the doorway. “See you then.” Blake nodded in affirmation.

“C-Cool, see you then!” Yang shot a finger gun at her then let out an ‘oof’ when she backed into the door, before quickly leaving. Blake laughed and shook her head. “So, what do you want me to do?” Blake asked as she jumped up off of the table.

“Jeez, I see what Weiss means about you two now...” Velvet chuckled lowly as she began taking the books out of the stack and onto other stacks. “What?” Blake raised an eyebrow at her. She caught on that Velvet was arranging the books by genre and began to do so as well.

“It’s obvious that you guys are into each other. It’s like Weiss and Ruby except they’ve known each other for two years and you’ve known Yang for two weeks.”

“It’s just that... I’ve never...” Blake’s mouth went dry and her cheeks tinted pink. Velvet’s eyes went wide. “You’ve _never_ liked someone?”

“No, no, it’s just that I’ve never liked... _a girl_ before. There’s a lot of feelings going on.”

“ _Shit_ , sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“No, it’s fine, honestly, it’s actually nice to say out loud.” Blake sighed as she picked up a stack of books, walking over to where it was labelled that genre would be. Velvet followed behind her with her own stack, and they both began sorting the books in alphabetical order. Being a librarian wasn’t hard....

“So, are you still figuring it out or do you think you have a label yet?”

“As corny as it is to admit, I’d never questioned myself before I met Yang.” Blake bit her lip as smiled over at Velvet “Is that bad?” Velvet giggled and shook her head before settling on a toothy smile.

“That’s usually how these things work Blake...”

“Well I’m new to this!”

“I know, _I know_.” Velvet laughed “Well Yang is definitely into you.”

“How do you know?”

“For a start, she hates giving people a ride on her bike, yet she picks you up every morning and drops you home after school.” Velvet flashed her eyebrows over at her and Blake was unconvinced. “That’s... for a different reason.” Blake sighed, her smile dropping completely as she went back to arranging the bookshelf.

Velvet hummed. “Are you coming to the game next week?” She asked. Blake was grateful that she had dropped the subject of ‘Yang’ because if she was honest, she wasn’t comfortable talking about it right now with anyone other than herself... or maybe her mom... although that does make her sound like a loser.

“Yeah, I’m kind of excited for it. I’ve never been to a match before.”

“Oh really? Are you coming to Ruby’s race as well?”

“Yeah, I’m going to both. Like I said,” she turned and grinned at Velvet “ _Excited_.” Velvet giggled and shook her head. “Then Yang’s forcing me to go to the party at Coco’s.”

“I think Sun and the rest of the cheerleaders are going too. Guess you’ll have your pick for the night.”

“Oh, I was joking earlier. I only met Sun for like five minutes.”

“Yeah I know, but Sun said you were cute so...” Velvet winked and walked away to get another stack of books. Blake giggled. Sun seemed like a dork but she didn’t know if she could be into him, he seemed a different type of cocky from Yang. She thought back to the conversation she had with Yang that morning.

‘ _There are a few guys and gals out there who are into you._ ’

‘ _What’s your type Belladonna?_ ’

‘ _Did you say **Sun?!**_ ’

‘ _Oh my god..._ ’ Blake thought. She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh and reached into her pocket, fishing out her phone. ‘ _She probably thought I was being serious_.’  
  


> **Blake:** did you think i was being serious earlier about sun? 
> 
> **Yang:** were u not? 
> 
> **Blake:** yang, no i barely know him

“Texting your girlfriend?” Velvet asked with a teasing lilt in her voice. Blake was too busy biting her lip and looking down at her phone to even pay attention to what Velvet was saying. 

> **Yang:** i’ve g2g back to practice but I’ll c u in a few 
> 
> **Blake:** :(((( 

Velvet peeked over Blake’s shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Wanna see Yang back in middle school?” Velvet asked, the rabbit faunus had relented into fed into Blake’s new crush. The raven haired girls ears gleamed as she spun to meet Velvet “ _Yes._ ” 

Velvet pulled out her phone and scrolled through her photos that spanned over the last few years. She pulled up a picture (of a framed photo) of Yang and Ruby. Ruby’s hair was flopped over her face in a sort of side fringe and Yang... _oh god_.

“ _That_ is your stereotypical ‘I’m going through puberty look’ right there.” Velvet and Blake giggled. Blake covered her mouth with her hand, she thought it was so funny to look at, especially compared to the Yang now. In the photo Yang was showing an awkward half smile, trying to hide the braces on her teeth. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, as if she suddenly had too much height to deal with and there were a few obvious spots scattered over her face.

“She used to be such a dork when she first moved to Vale.”

“Did she not always live here?”

“No, I think she moved here from patch.” Blake smiled ‘ _What a glow up..._ ’ she thought. “Coco was _always_ the popular kid, even back in middle school, so when Yang first moved here she used to think Coco was _the_ popular kid.”

“What happened?”

“Well I’ve always been friends with Coco but I was friends with Yang and Ruby too. So in our first year of high school, I invited Yang to one of Coco’s parties.” Velvet giggled to herself as she scrolled through her photos and landed on one with Coco and Yang. Yang and Coco stuck out their tongues, both of them flipping off the camera. Yang still had her braces, which made Blake giggle.

“They hit it off and have been friends ever since, now they compete over _everything_.” The brunette slipped her phone back into her pocket “She was crushed when Yang became the football captain. But she never actually minded.”

“So Yang went from the awkward new girl to one of the most popular girls in school?”

“Yeah... there’s definitely other parts to that story _but_ , it’s better if she tells you.”

“If it’s sensitive then I’m sure she’ll tell me in her own time.” Velvet nodded, seemingly satisfied with that response.

She was curious now though...

* * *

Blake was strangely content riding on the back of Yang’s motorcycle now. It was a part of her daily routine and she was so... used to it. Comfortable with it. Although she didn’t think she could ever get used to the death defyingly sharp corners that Yang would turn. 

Yang had stopped at a red light, giving them a moments rest from the blinding sensation of the wind rushing past them as she drove. “Hey,” Yang said suddenly “You like tea right?” Blake nodded against her back “Love it.” She managed to say. 

“Wanna grab some? There’s a coffee shop I go to that serves some killer tea.” Blake nodded again and that was all the confirmation Yang needed to detour them to a coffee shop. 

A bell jingled above the door when Yang swung it open, holding it open for Blake to enter like she had done earlier in the library. “Such a gentlewoman.” Blake cooed causing Yang to giggle. Blake’s cheeks heated up when she felt Yang place her hand on the small of her back, it was almost protective of her. 

“Want me to order and you can go grab a seat?” Yang asked and Blake swooned over the whole ‘coffee shop date’ vibes she was getting (even though that wasn’t the case). “Sure, could you get me chamomile tea?” 

“ _Chamomile tea..._ yeah I can remember that.” Blake rolled her eyes and shook her hand around in her pocket. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll pay.” 

“Yang no, you said last night that I could get next time.” 

“It’s _just_ tea.” 

“ _I don’t care._ ” Blake finally found the ten lien bill in her pocket, fishing it out she placed it in Yang’s palm. The blonde pouted down at her “ _Fine_.” Yang swung her bag down off of her shoulder, allowing Blake to take it and go find a seat. 

> **Coco:** what kind of kegs do u guys think I should get for the party? 
> 
> **Pyrrha:** coco someone’s just going to flood the place like last time
> 
> **Coco:** it was jaune that flooded the place 
> 
> **Jaune:** I’m still so sorry for that 
> 
> **Blake:** cider kegs are cheaper 
> 
> **Coco:** finally a fkn answer, thanks for that Blake

She felt a little satisfied at being thanked by Coco. It was like a celebrity liking your photo. They did it on a whim and will probably forget but you can’t help but feel a little proud of it. Yang slid into the seat across from her, two cups clinking down onto the table. Yang squinted at the cups before trying the one she thought was her own before wrinkling her nose and passing it over to Blake. 

“Not what I was expecting.” 

“I can tell.” Blake said against her cup before she took a sip. Yang pointed to Blake’s phone before swiping her own cup off of the table. “Who you texting?” 

“Oh, Coco asked in the group chat what keg she should get.” 

“I can’t wait for you to come to Coco’s party. They’re wilder than Sun’s.” Yang said blissfully, leaning on her fist. Blake giggled at the reminiscing look she was adorning. “Velvet was showing me pictures from the first time you went to one of Coco’s parties-“

“ _No she didn’t..._ ”

“ _Yes she did_ , I didn’t know _little Yang_ used to have braces.” Blake laughed at Yang who was covering her face with her hands, her face reddening. “This is _so embarrassing_.” She said, her voice muffled through her hands.

“You were cute in a... nerdy kind of way.” The raven haired girl said. Yang let out a sigh as she lifted her head up, the reddening in her face dispersing. “You can definitely tell that you grew up though...” Blake bit her lip, spinning her cup in her hand “You got hot.”

‘ _Why did I say that? What is wrong with me?!_ ’ Blake screamed internally whilst calmly sipping from her cup.

“I guess now I’m hot enough to get girls like you.” They both laughed. “Sorry to bring it up but has Adam...” Blake shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen him. Which is good but...”

“ _But_...?”

“I don’t know, he’s not normally one to take things like this so well.” She sighed “Sorry for dragging you into all of this.”

“It’s no problem.” Yang winked at her, which made her blush. She took a sip from her tea and glanced out the window. Her heart skipped a few beats and she almost choked on her drink. Yang’s eyes widened “What’s up?” Blake barely registered that Yang had said something, too transfixed on the person she was looking at.

It was a girl with a long ponytail, with what could easily be mistaken as freckles all over face. “That’s a girl that I used to be friends with in the White Fang- Ilia...” the girl locked eyes with her and glared. Yang turned around as subtly as she could, only to also get glared at.

“We can go if you want-“

“No it’s fine.” Blake gulped and her ears pinned back as she watched Ilia walk through the door, beginning to walk towards them. Ilia’s ponytail swung from side to side as she walked, her hips swaying with each movement.

“ _Blake_.” Ilia said, nodding at her, before her eyes shifted to Yang. “Yang...” The blonde said for her, her eyes clearly showed she was skeptical. Ilia narrowed her eyes, trying to size up Yang, before deciding if wasn’t worth it and shifting her gaze back to Blake.

“Adam said you ditched us for some chick,” She drew a dirty look at Yang “he wasn’t kidding.”

“What do you want?” Blake said as calmly as she could, reaching her leg out to lean it against Yang’s in some attempt to stop her from getting pissed off. “Nothing...” Ilia closed her eyes and sighed “I just wanted to see you, just to see if you were alright.” She glared back at Yang. “But, I didn’t have to.”

Blake watched as Ilia walked away, walking out of the door before completely disappearing.

“Why does she talk like a movie villain?”

Blake laughed aloud.

“She’s always been like that.”

“ _Jeez_... weird gal.” 

* * *

Yang drove Blake home and drove her just as crazy after Blake had told her about Ilia. Yang stood leaning against her bike, Blake standing in front of her.

“- _Now_ I know why she looked like she wanted to kill me.”

“She wasn’t jealous, stop saying that!”

“You said she had a thing for you the whole time you and Adam were together.”

“That means nothing.” Blake shook her head at Yang who’s grin was growing bigger by the second. She slapped Yang on the shoulder “ _Stop that_.”

“Stop _what_?”

“Smiling like that.” She couldn’t help but grin back. “Like _what_?” Yang protested, that same shit eating grin growing wider. “Like _that_!” Blake laughed. Yang looked down and let out an exasperated chuckle “ _I’m sorry_ , I just didn’t know there were so many people who wanted you.” She looked up, smile dazzling “I don’t blame them, you’re quite a catch Belladonna...” 

Blake bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, biting into her bottom lip. There were so many things on the tip of her tongue, so many things she’d love to say, love to ask, love to do. But there were always doubts. She doubted herself. 

“How... how did you know you were gay- if you don’t mind me asking?” Blake said, suddenly feeling very vulnerable at that question. Even though she was the one asking. Yang leaned back against her bike a little more. “Back in middle school I had a _huge_ crush on Coco,” she held her finger to her lips and winked “But don’t tell anyone.”

Blake giggled and folded her arms over her chest “Your secrets safe with me...” she murmured. “Why are you asking anyway?” Yang nodded at her, not looking at all offended like Blake had expected. She dragged her tongue across her teeth as she looked up at Yang, her ears pinning back out of pure guilt.

‘ _Would I be wrong to like you?_ ’ She thought.

She looked at Yang’s eyes; pools of lilac looked back at her. Her eyes trailed down to her lips, looking soft, plump... _kissable_. She realised then that she had stepped close enough that she could smell the perfume Yang was wearing. Blake shook her head “No reason... I was just curious is all.”

She cupped Yang’s cheek, stepping on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to the opposite cheek. “Thanks for earlier, text me when you get home.” Blake said, stepping back and watching as Yang’s face lit up like someone had lit up flames beneath her. She nodded.

“Uh-uh, _yeah_ , _of course_! I _uh_...” Yang shook her head and Blake giggled as she backed away. “I’ll text you Blake...” Yang said softly.

“Good.”

Blake turned to go inside her house, what she didn’t see was Yang driving off, finally letting her face turn beet red. 

* * *

Her father was sitting in the living room when she walked inside. He was half watching the tv, half typing away on his laptop. “Hi dad,” she said to announce her presence more than anything “what’re your working on?” 

Her father sat back in his seat and took off his reading glasses. “I’m referring Adam to Sienna Khan. I hope that’s not a problem with you.” Ghira said sternly. Blake blinked a few times, then realised she hadn’t actually told them. “No, I broke up with Adam the other day, I don’t care, but... what’s he done?” 

Ghira raised both of his eyebrows “ _Oh_... are you okay?” Blake smiled and walked over, placing the laptop in her lap as she sat down next to her father. “I’m fine, _relieved_ even.” Her eyes landed on the laptop, scanning over the email. 

> Dear Sienna Khan, 
> 
> The other day I caught a member of the White Fang selling dust in the street that I live in. After looking into this further, it has come to my attention that there has been an influx of robberies in pharmacies in the city. This leads me to be suspicious of the White Fang stealing and illegally redistributing dust.-

There was more, but Blake stopped reading there. She shut over the laptop and set it aside, running her tongue over her teeth. “Dad, I think you should drop this, leave us out of it.” Ghira looked away “Dad _please_.” 

Ghira stood up and grabbed his laptop, tucking it under his arm as he gave Blake another gentle squeeze to her shoulder. “I’m doing this for you. I might be getting involved but it doesn’t mean you have to as well.” He said solemnly before leaving the living room. His footsteps slammed against the steps as he trudged upstairs. Probably residing to his office. 

Blake closed her eyes and lay back. This was ridiculous. She was away from the White Fang, away from Adam, she didn’t want to deal with this anymore. However, this might be the only way to finally finish everything up. She whipped her phone out of her pocket.

> **Blake:** do we know anyone who takes dust?
> 
> **Yang:** I sure as hell don’t, that stuff will give u a heart attack (´ ･ _ ･ `)
> 
> **Yang:** why? 
> 
> **Blake:** promise u won’t tell? 
> 
> **Yang:** :0 ofc i won’t tell
> 
> **Blake:** my dad said there’s been break ins at pharmacies and a ton of white fang have been selling dust 
> 
> **Yang:** plz tell me ur not thinking of asking adam about it 
> 
> **Blake:** no i was going to ask ilia, the girl from earlier 
> 
> **Yang:** Blake i don’t think u shld get wrapped up in smfn like this  
>    
> 

Blake exhaled. She’d came to the same conclusion a few minutes ago but... it bothered her still. 

> **Blake:** no ur right, i’ll just drop it 
> 
> **Yang:** what happened to me texting u btw? miss me already? (^ω^)
> 
> **Blake:** shut up 
> 
> **Yang:** forget about the white fang and just focus on the fun we’re gonna have next week starting with ruby’s race
> 
> **Blake:** yeah i can get behind that 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, hope y’all enjoyed and are sticking around for more, the next chapter is gonna be fun... maybe. Who knows. Fun for me to write anyway.


	5. Karma Chameleon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake decides to dig a little further into the White Fang. Yang sticks around to make her feel good.

Blake’s week had been... _slow_. If she didn’t know any better, she would think the last few days since her father had told her about his suspicions of the White Fang’s operation had been an entire month. But, like everything else in her life, Blake was _well_ aware. Aware that it had only been a few days and that the White Fang were definitely up to something.

She sat in the library at one of the study tables, a textbook open in front of her so it would look like she was doing something, when in reality she was just googling things on her phone.

Everything she had looked up so far had either led to a dead end or there wasn’t enough information for the source to be credible. There were articles on the White Fang allegedly dealing drugs that were written years ago, but none of them had been in Vale. The articles she did find that connected the White Fang to any operation in Vale were either extremely short or the link was broken.

She groaned as she scrolled through the articles, writing down tiny details on her notepad. She made sure to write down every detail of the articles she read, from every key point, to where and when it had been published- she was even writing down the writers name! It was safe to say, Blake was a little determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

“ _Hey Blake_ , whatcha doing?” Before she had a moment to even acknowledge who was speaking to her, a tail whipped around and snatched up her notebook. “ _Sun_! Give it!” Blake snarled, reaching up to grab the book back from him. He folded his arms and whipped his tail out of the way of her reach, bringing it up so he could see what she was doing.

“I see all the ‘ _Blake hearts Yang_ ’ doodles!”

“Shut up, they don’t exist!” (They did, she just prayed he wouldn’t turn the page.)

Sun quietly placed the notebook back down in front of her as he slid into the seat across from her. Blake looked up at him, mildly worried that he had see what she was writing and he would say about what he saw. Sun wore a red beacon varsity jacket, the retro style collar had been popped up and there were some badges that surrounded the logo on the left half of his jacket.

“Is wearing jackets like that just a popular jock thing?” Blake smirked, leaning back in her chair as she shut over her notebook. Sun pouted “This is the only one I wear...” his pout quickly turned into a wicked smirk as he leaned over the table. Blake mentally prepared herself for whatever he was about to say.

“ _I heard_ you’re Adam’s girl, so what’re you doin’ with all that info on the fang?” Sun said, his voice hushed to a whisper. “ _Why_ do you care?” Blake growled, she didn’t know whether he was a member or not, but judging by how he knows her, he must either be involved with them or he knows someone.

He shrugged “Well to be honest, you’re kinda treading in dangerous waters. What with you dating _Adam Taurus_ whilst researching things that could potentially ruin the White Fang’s reputation and _flirting_ with Yang-“

“Okay, _one_ ,” she held out her index finger in his face “ _I_ broke up with Adam. _Two_ , the White Fang’s reputation is already ruined. And _three_ , I’m not _flirting_ with Yang!”

Sun blinked a few times at the three fingers that were now held up in front of him before his eyes flitted for her own. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.” Sun deadpanned. Blake arched her brow at him “Yang’s really nice-“

“No, not with Yang! We all know she’s hot and cool, you’re not the first person to be into her!”

“I’m not into her-“

“Listen, we’re getting sidetracked here. My point is, Adam is a little... _extreme_.”

“Oh, _you think so_? Which part of _all_ the crimes he’s committed makes you say that?”

“ _Shush_ , if he finds out you’re digging into whatever he’s doing, he’s not gonna be happy!”

Blake bit her lip, preventing herself from saying something cheeky. She narrowed her eyes and her ears went back, showing off how hostile she was at the moment. “ _Why_ do you care?” Sun shrugged and sat back in his chair, a charming smile on his face. “I’m just being a nice guy... and it would totally get me in Yang’s good books if I’m helping you out.” He sighed and visibly winced.

Blake giggled “What’d you do?”

“I scratched her bike a while back by accident and she hasn’t let it go.”

“On accident?”

“Yeah, I was practicing my nunchucks and they smacked off the bike.”

“...You’re an idiot.” 

* * *

When the bell rang, signalling Blake that it was time for the break between classes, she knew it was inevitable that she’d end up walking to the table her friends sat at with Sun. She laughed when her and Sun walked towards the table as she could already see Yang scowling at Sun, who quickly excused himself to go find Neptune. 

“What class are you in with Sun?” Yang asked as Blake sat across from her, she saw Weiss chuckle out of the corner of her eye. “None, I had a free period and we ended up sitting together in the library.” Blake shrugged. Yang nodded, averting her gaze to somewhere down the table, sending a small pang of guilt through Blake. ‘ _Why do I feel so bad?_ ’ She thought, furrowing her brow in confusion with herself.

“I like how it’s becoming a regular thing for Weiss and Ruby to ditch us to go do something else.” Jaune complained from the other side of the table, pouting as he placed his head on his hand. Pyrrha shrugged and placed her hand on his arm “They look quite happy from where I’m sitting.” 

Blake and Yang followed Pyrrha’s gaze outside to see Weiss giggling at whatever story Ruby was telling her. Yang chuckled and rolled her eyes. “We’ve _finally_ thawed the ice queens heart, it only took us what, _two years?_ ” Yang joked, drawing a laugh from the group. 

They sat for another few minutes until the bell rang, Blake knew her and Yang were in the same side of the building... 

“Can I walk with you to class?” Blake asked, looking over at the blonde apprehensively. Yang smirked and raised an eyebrow “Of course! You don’t need to ask.” She said enthusiastically. Blake tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sped up a little to catch up with Yang, who beamed and brushed her shoulder off of Blake’s. 

* * *

Blake sighed to herself as she exchanged stuff from her bag to her locker. It was a routinely thing that happened twice a day. The maddening repetition that goes into trading textbooks and notebooks with yourself. She looked over to see Yang, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to figure out her locker combo. 

The raven haired girl shut over her locker and walked over to Yang’s, leaning against the locker beside her. “Having trouble?” She smirked smugly. Yang chuckled and kept trying to crack open her locker. “It’s 2-13-2-12, you told me to remember it in case you forgot again.” Blake said. 

Yang tried the code she had told her and, unsurprisingly, the locker opened. 

“You’re a life saver.” 

“I do what I can.” The two chuckled lightly as Yang stuffed her entire bag into the locker. She looked back at Blake who was quite baffled by the act. “I don’t need to take anything home.” She said sheepishly, scratching her neck as she closed over her locker. 

The blonde leaned against the locker “So...” 

“ _So_...?” Blake smiled softly. 

“If you’ve got time, wanna go grab a bite to eat?” Yang asked, trying to look as suave and cool as she could, adjusting her stance every three seconds for the optimum look. She ended up just looking like an anxious dork, but Blake wasn’t complaining. “Yeah, you know I love going places with you.” The faunus said with a light blush dusting her cheeks. 

Yang’s mouth hung agape before she recomposed herself. “ _Really_? Why do you like going places with me?” She asked, scanning Blake’s face for any trace of a lie. Blake shrugged slightly “I just like being with you.”

“That’s so corny-“

“ _Shut up!_ ” She pushed Yang’s shoulder, laughing “Where do you wanna go for food anyway?” 

“Dunno, depends what kinda stuff you like.” 

“Well Sushi is my favourite but I like a lot of other foods so it shouldn’t be...” she looked up at Yang who was looking at her with a blank expression. It was mildly terrifying because he had yet to see Yang with this look on her face yet. “What is it?” Blake asked, tilting her head and adorning a nervous smile. 

“I’ve never tried sushi before and now that you’ve said it I really don’t know why I haven’t tried it...”

“Is that why you’re looking at me like you’ve saw a ghost?” Yang laughed and scratched her neck sheepishly. “Sorry, wanna get sushi then?” She smiled and began walking forward, knowing Blake was following closely behind her. 

“Lead the way Xiao-Long.” 

* * *

Blake and Yang walked into the restaurant, that was actually quite nicely decorated considering the place was rather cheap as Blake had explained to the blonde. 

From what Yang knew, they sat down at a booth next to a conveyor belt, they put their order into a little digital screen in front of them and then the food would be sent around on the conveyor belt with their table number on it. 

Simple. 

Well, things were not _simple_ for Yang. 

See, the thing was, she had tried sushi before and she wasn’t all that fond of it. She loved fish, just not raw and cold and slimy- _okay_ so she wasn’t a lover of sushi. When she saw that the restaurant served more than sushi she was secretly jumping for joy, opting to get chicken teriyaki and her excuse being ‘ _she just wasn’t ready to take that step with sushi_ ’ which drew a laugh from Blake. 

“So what’ve you been doing all day? I know weren’t in class.” Blake asked, an attempt at making polite conversation. Yang perked up. Clearly she had a story or two to tell. “I was helping out Pyrrha since she’s student council prez and all, she had some stuff to organise for the match next week and Ruby’s race. So since I’m captain of the team, I’m kind of a big deal-“

“ _Sure you are._ ” Blake rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“She just wanted me to make sure everyone had their uniforms and ask if anyone needed a new helmet or guards. Then I ended up helping out Ruby.” Yang reached over to the conveyor belt and grabbed the tray with their food on it, placing it down on the table. “I’m sure Weiss will be thrilled that she was replaced.” Blake giggled. 

“I still can’t believe that they’re both into each other, cause Ruby is so...” 

“ _Energetic? Enthusiastic? Always nice?_ ”

“Yeah! And Weiss is...”

“ _The ice queen?_ ” 

“See, you catch on quick.” Yang smirked and picked up her chopsticks, spinning them in her hand. “Yeah well, opposites attract.” Blake shrugged and reached for her own chopsticks. Her phone buzzed as they were eating and she chanced a look at her phone to see a text from an unknown number. Blake decided to just deal with it later. 

“I’ve never understood that whole opposites attract thing, if you’re both opposite then won’t you get on each others nerves?”

“That’s what happens when you have nothing in common with the other person, the opposites attract thing is about personality and trying new things that the other person enjoys.” 

“ _Huh_... you might be right.” Yang said before taking a mouthful of her food, leaning on her fist as she thought about what Blake was saying. “I know I’m right, like have you ever really been to the library before you met me?” The raven haired girl said with a mischievous smirk. Yang almost choked on her food. 

She put her fist over her mouth, averting her gaze out of embarrassment. “I guess not, now I go there all the time.” Yang admitted with a sheepish grin. “And _I’ve_ never done... anything that I do with you before. But I like it...” Blake said and it was her turn to blush as Yang’s grin grew wider.

“You saying you’re attracted to me Belladonna?”

“I don’t know, _am I_?” Yang rolled her eyes and they both giggled at each other. They went back to eating their food in a comfortable silence. It then dawned on Blake ‘ _Yang hasn’t tried sushi..._ ’ she picked up a piece of her sushi and looked up at Yang. “Do you want to try some?”

Yang gulped, hoping she wasn’t noticeably nervous. “Yeah sure.” she nodded coolly and took the sushi from Blake’s chopsticks. “What is it?” Yang asked, inspecting the sushi she was about to eat. “It’s called salmon nigiri, it’s just salmon and rice.” Yang nodded and stuffed the sushi into her mouth.

It was then that Yang realised that she _really_ didn’t like raw fish. So she chewed slowly, trying her best to eat it for Blake.

Blake cringed and bit her lip to stifle a laugh “You don’t like it do you?” Yang shook her head, still chewing for what she realises was an abnormally long time. “Yang it’s fine if you don’t like it, it’s _just_ sushi.” The blonde finally swallowed the fish and held back the urge to shiver.

“It’s... _great_.”

“ _Yang_...”

“ _Fine_ , it’s not my type of thing...” she pouted “Sorry, I wanted to like it for you.” Blake blushed and scratched her cheek. “That was nice but, it’s just sushi, it’s alright if you don’t like it.” They both smiled softly. Yang, seeing that they were both done, waved over the waiter and asked for the bill, she reached into her pocket and placed down a twenty-lien note before Blake could object.

“I hate that you do that.” Blake narrowed her eyes, her ears pinning back in annoyance. The blonde chuckled and grabbed both of their bags (another thing Blake wished she wouldn’t do, as sweet as it was) before they began to make their way out of the restaurant. The faunus sighed.

Blake looked at her phone, she didn’t want to look at it. She wanted to live in the moment, being out with Yang (as if it was different from any other day.) but she knew that there was something wrong. 

> **Unknown:** Get your father to lay off or your friends bikes toast

Blake’s head snapped up from her phone, where she saw a faunus leaning against the wall, staring at her with wide eyes. The faunus began sprinting down a back alley in an obvious attempt to get away from her.

“ _Sorry, Yang I’ll be back in one second!_ ” She yelled as she sprinted after the faunus, both of them going at full speed. Yang’s eyes widened and she heaved the two backpacks over her shoulder, sprinting after Blake. “ _Blake_!” She yelled after her.

The raven haired girl could hear Yang, but right now she was focused on catching up to the faunus running away from her. She skidded round a corner, almost crashing into the wall, but quickly recovered and ran after the faunus. There was a fence at the end of the alley, blocking the faunus from getting anywhere.

Blake was vaguely aware of Yang coming up behind her and tossing the backpacks to the ground. The faunus, realising there was no way out, lunged at Blake in an attempt to throw a punch to her face, only for Yang to grab their arm and head butt them. The faunus wailed and fell backwards, holding their hand over their now bleeding nose.

“ _God, Yang are you okay!?_ ” Blake cried, grabbing Yang’s jaw to tilt her face towards her. The blonde’s eyes widened in surprise “Yeah, of course, now _why_ are you chasing this guy?”

Blake blinked dumbly. She was surprised at how quickly she had been sidetracked by Yang potentially getting hurt that she’d forgotten about the person she was chasing. She let go of Yang and turned back to face the faunus on the ground.

“Are you the creep who just sent me a text?!” Blake pointed at the faunus. The faunus nodded “Y-Yeah, but listen, it’s nothing personal, I was just told to-“

“ _By who?!_ ”

“I-I can’t say-“

“Fine, _then_...” Blake stormed over to her backpack, pulling out a notebook and opening it, flashing the pages at the faunus “What can you tell me about the drug operation in Vale?” Blake questioned, shoving the book into the faunus’ face, determined to get an answer.

“Blake... you said you’d drop this.” Yang murmured and if Blake didn’t have cat ears she was certain she wouldn’t have heard. “I’m sorry... I just need to know.” The faunus wrote down something in the notebook and passed it back to Blake. “I don’t know much about it, I’m just a dealer...”

“What the _hell’s_ going on?!”

Blake, Yang and the faunus on the ground snapped their attention to the other end do the alleyway. Ilia was casually walking down the alley, her hands in her hoodie pocket, looking pissed. Yang sighed and took the book from Blake’s hand without an issue, stuffing it in Blake’s backpack before tossing both bags over her shoulder.

“Blake, _what the fuck-_ “

“Ilia, _thank god!_ ” Blake exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart “Listen I need to ask a favour.”

“No, _no favours Blake!_ Why’re you here, what’re you doing?”

“I’m just... _why’re you here?!_ ” Blake retorted “Are you stalking me now too?!”

Ilia giggled “No idiot, I haven’t spoke to Adam lately also, I’m seeing someone.” Blake and Yang both blinked a few times. Yang because she barely knew the girl and thought she was either insane or very passive aggressive. And Blake because Ilia was being like how she used to be.

“So what are you doing here Blake?”

Blake paused. All words were caught in her throat. What was she doing? Causing a scene for no reason is what she was doing. She was pretty sure Yang had even broke someone’s nose and for what? Because she was nosey, because she wanted to find out about her ex-boyfriend? Why did she even care? What was wrong with her-

“Blake, calm down.” Yang said, gently placing her hands on Blake’s upper arms, drawing circles in the fabric of her jacket with her thumb. Blake blinked again. She brought her hand up to her face, wiping away tears she hadn’t known were falling. “Sorry... sorry I’m fine...” she looked up at Ilia. The chameleon faunus looked worried, her eyebrows creased.

Blake felt Yang wrap her arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Let’s get you home, yeah?” Yang said softly as they walked. Blake didn’t bother to look back at Ilia, she was disappointed, embarrassed and ashamed that she’d caused a scene. “Yeah... I’m sorry Yang.”

“You don’t need to apologise it’s fine, let’s just get you home Blakey.”

They both walked back to Yang’s bike in a comfortable silence. Blake couldn’t help but feel terrible for what had just happened, but right now she couldn’t think of a way to make it up to Yang. 

* * *

The bike came to a stop outside of Blake’s house, the gentle glow of the sun setting casting over the street, making it look more gorgeous than usual. Blake swung her legs off of the bike, Yang following so she could lean on the bike. Blake’s phone buzzed in her pocket, she pulled it halfway out to see. 

> **Ilia:** Hey it’s Ilia, I don’t know if you still have my number saved but just checking if you’re alright. 

Blake sighed and slid her phone back into her pocket, her ears pinned to her head as she picked up her backpack. “I’m still _so_ sorry... I _shouldn’t_ have-“

“You did what you had to only hoping that you’d get something from that faunus, which is kinda admirable really.” Yang chuckled. The blonde reached out and grabbed Blake’s hand, pulling her towards her slightly. Blake looked up at her, still feeling at a loss for what to say. 

“You almost had a panic attack back there...” Yang said lowly. Blake’s eyes widened and she looked up at Yang in shock. The blonde chuckled and intertwined her fingers with Blake’s. “My anxiety used to be really bad and I’d have panic attacks a lot. But when I met Coco and Pyrrha they helped me deal with it.” She smiled brightly at Blake “Now I haven’t had a panic attack in a year.”

“My point is, instead of trying to take everything head on. Trust me, tell me what’s going on and let me help you.” She squeezed Blake’s hand for emphasis. The raven haired girl returned the smile and threw her other arm around Yang’s neck, pressing her head against Yang’s chest. “ _Thank you for telling me that..._ ”

“And thank you for breaking someone’s nose me for me.” They both laughed, staying in that position for a moment longer. Blake pulled back, still not letting go of Yang’s hand. “You really didn’t need to do that.” The blonde shrugged and smirked. “Well it’s done now.”

Blake bit her lip as she looked back towards her house then back at Yang. “I-I should go-“

“Actually... do you want to come in? Y-You don’t have to it’s just...” Blake giggled and looked down as she shuffled her feet “I like hanging out with you, but you can go if you want.”

Yang smiled and stood up, no longer leaning on the bike she was a lot taller than Blake. The raven haired girl beamed and walked backwards towards her door, still holding Yang’s hand. Blake only let go of her hand to open the door, closing it behind Yang once she came in.

She watched as Kali’s head peeked out of the living room, her eyes perking up and a smile growing as she saw Blake and Yang. She slipped out of the living room and leaned against the wall in the hallway.

“Mom, this is-“

“ _Yang!_ Blake talks about you _all_ the time!” Kali exclaimed as she walked forward and trapped Yang in a hug. “ _Oh really?_ ” Yang said smugly to a blushing Blake. Kali pulled back and smacked Yang lightly on the shoulder. “She said you’re the captain of the football team, that’s quite an accomplishment, _especially_ for a school as big as Beacon.”

“Yeah well, I suppose so...” Yang rubbed her neck bashfully. “Blake said she’d never been to a match before so I invited her to come watch ours next week.”

“Oh, she mentioned that! That and your sisters race is earlier that day.”

“Yeah, I’ll be picking her up to go to it.” Yang said casually. Kali turned to Blake and flashed her eyebrows at her before walking back into the living room, gesturing for them to follow after her. “Are you staying for dinner Yang?”

“Oh, sorry I forgot to say, Yang already took me to go get sushi.” Blake regretted saying that when Kali turned to them with a _far-too-happy_ smile on her face. “You really spoil my daughter you know.”

“ _I_ -“ Yang’s face turned beet red and her words were caught in her throat. “Not so smug now.” Blake whispered and bumped Yang’s elbow, making her smile through her embarrassment. “You take her to school and make sure she gets home alright, you take her out for dinner and she seems to have fun, a thing I didn’t know Blake knew about.”

“ _Mom_!”

“ _Seriously_ , her idea of fun is reading books for hours on end, not that there’s anything wrong with it, I just thought she’d like something more.”

Yang recomposed herself, taking her jacket off so it would look as if she was just too warm and not that she had been embarrassed. “Some of Blake’s books are actually super good, there’s one called one hundred years of solitude that I started reading-“

“You actually started reading that?” Blake said out of surprise. Yang nodded “Yeah, that and the other one I always see you reading, the man with two souls?” Blake knew she was smiling like an idiot right now but she honestly couldn’t help it. “ _Yeah_...” she said breathily. They realised they were staring at each other when they heard Kali giggle.

“Yang, your forehead is _awfully_ red.” Kali said, squinting her eyes and moving forward to inspect further.

Blake cleared her throat and fixed the bag strap on her shoulder, only for Yang to reach forward and take it from her. “Mom, we’re gonna go upstairs.” Blake said, quickly dragging Yang by the hand through the hallway and up the stairs. Kali rolled her eyes and moved to the banister “Leave the door open Blake!” She yelled up to her.

Yang covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laugh, Blake turned red again. She regretted asking Yang if she wanted to come inside. She guided the blonde to her room, gesturing for her to toss her bag on the bed. Blake sat down on her windowsill, that she had converted into some sort of sofa.

“Your room’s really nice.” Yang said in awe, spinning in a half circle as she observed the walls. Blake had never considered if it would be nice when she told her father what she wanted her room to be like. The walls were a lilac colour, with fairy lights hanging around the perimeter of her walls.

“Do you like old music and movies like that or is it just for decoration?” Yang pointed towards the wall that was littered with old movie posters and records. “No, I actually like all of the stuff that’s up there. I just thought they’d be a nice decoration.” Blake giggled. Yang sat down on the bed next to Blake, her eyes still scanning the room.

“You’re really...” she spun her wrist in the air as she tried to find the word “ _Artsy_?” Blake giggled again and shrugged. “I suppose so. I’ve just always liked stuff like that.”

“But it’s really cool, you’re into all the creative arts.” Yang said, faking a pompous tone as she bumped into Blake playfully. The raven haired girl twisted slightly and looked up at Yang’s forehead. There was a small bruise forming at the centre of it. She reached her hands up, one hand cupping her jaw and the other pushing the hair that fell over Yang’s face out of the way.

“Thank you again for earlier...” she murmured. Yang winced slightly when Blake pressed into the sensitive flesh a little too hard. Blake lifted herself up, pressing a kiss to Yang’s forehead, right over where the bruise was forming. Yang let out a small sigh. “Next time you try to look into anything like what you did earlier, you’ll let me know?”

“ _Yeah_...” Blake said breathily and nodded as she pulled back slightly from Yang, lightly resting her forehead against the other girls. “Promise?” Yang smirked, her hands moving go to hold Blake’s waist. Blake nodded again “ _Promise_...” she repeated. She noticed Yang look down at her lips then there were butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She nodded again, closing her eyes when she felt Yang’s nose bump against her own.

“ _Blake! Can you come down here for a moment!_ ”

Blake jumped out of her skin. Yang only laughed at her reaction. Blake wiped her hand over her face and cleared her throat. “I can’t believe her...” She muttered. The blonde laughed again and stood up, licking her lips and looking around nervously. Yang looked back at Blake and handed her the jacket she’d took off earlier to her.

“Do you want to keep this for me?” The blonde asked and Blake smiled and nodded, immediately shedding her own jacket and putting it on. It was another varsity jacket she had handed her, it was black with yellow leather sleeves and a yellow ‘YXL’ over the left breast. “I’ll wear it to your match.”

“Well I mean, you’re wearing it now so...” they both chuckled “I’m gonna get going, but it was nice to come in for a little bit.” Blake nodded sadly.

The raven haired girl led Yang downstairs, the blonde pulling the drawstrings on her hoodie and tying them as they walked. “Do you know where your father is?” Kali asked from the living room, sitting on the couch. Blake’s face immediately dropped.

‘ _That’s what she called me down for?_ ’ She thought.

“I don’t know, I’ll try calling him.” Blake said, trying her best to look like she wasn’t going to burst a vein out of sheer anger. Yang laughed at her and shook her head, before looking inside the living room. “It was nice meeting you Mrs Belladonna, but I’ve gotta go now!” Yang said politely. Kali nodded “Call me Kali dear, I’ll look forward to seeing you again!”

“You too, bye!” Yang waved before moving out of view from the living room. Blake opened the door for her, leaning against the frame after Yang stepped outside. Blake sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

“Maybe next time you can come over to my place, although you might not like my dog much.” Yang winced but smiled nonetheless. “I might be brave enough for it.” Blake smirked.

“ _Blake_...” Yang said, low and breathily, the same way they’d been talking before. Blake gulped and nodded “ _Yeah_?” Her tone matched Yang’s. The blonde had took a few steps forward, placing a hand on Blake’s cheek. Her heart flipped in her chest, her stomach fluttering with butterflies again.

“ _I_...” Yang paused, just staring down into pools gold. Blake knew what was coming, but it was taking forever. She knew she wanted this, wanted Yang. She wanted her too. But for someone so confident... Blake rolled her eyes “ _Yang for fuck sake._ ”

“Wha-“

Yang was cut off by Blake’s lips clashing against her own. The blonde closed her eyes and Blake felt herself melt against her. The kiss was messy, Blake had bumped their teeth together more than once, but she didn’t mind. This was what she wanted. She’d wanted it for weeks. Yang was the first to pull away, placing another kiss to the edge of her mouth as she did so. 

“S-Sorry I was taking too long...” Yang stammered. Blake shook her head, smiling happily as she licked her lips. “Sorry... I’ve never really done this before, am I rushing? I feel like I’m rushing-“

“You’re good Blake.” Yang laughed and reached her hand down to hold Blake’s. Yang let out a shaky laugh and began backing out of the doorway, Blake whimpering and refusing to let go of her hand. “I’ll text you when I get home.” Yang said, which made Blake let go of her hand. The blonde hopped onto her bike, winking and blowing a kiss at Blake before riding off.

She bit back a smile as she closed the door and began to climb the stairs again.

“I like her...” Kali said, causing Blake to stop on the stairs, leaning over the banister to look at Kali. “She’s polite and seems to actually care for you.” Blake nodded in agreement, a tiny smile gracing her lips. 

“She’s also _much_ taller than I thought she was.” 

Blake laughed and leaned against the banister. “Yeah... I like her too...” Blake trailed off, picking some of the paint that was beginning to chip “I wonder if dad would like her.” 

“Oh please, you know your father with football.” They both laughed “He would like her.” Kali confirmed. Blake nodded to herself before taking off upstairs to her room. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and blushed, she had momentarily forgotten she was wearing Yang’s jacket. It was then that she reached up to her lips, she could feel the sensation of kissing Yang from moments ago still tingling. She rolled her eyes and laughed at herself. 

“Why am I acting like this...” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading. Also I based Blake’s room off of my friends room because it’s really pretty and gives me those Belladonna vibes.


	6. Game, Set, Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake goes to watch Ruby’s race and Yang’s football match. Yang tells Blake a story of her ex. 
> 
> And uncle Qrow turns up to watch it all unfold.

The sounds of inflatable noisemakers clanging together and the chants only being amplified by the megaphones people were holding filled the bleachers. Blake was bound to have a headache before she even got through Yang’s match, curse her sensitive faunus hearing.

The raven haired girl sat between Yang and Weiss, the rest of their friends were at Weiss’ side, whereas Yang’s side still had an empty seat for whenever her dad showed up. She glanced over at Weiss, who had been oddly silent for the whole time they’d been sitting here waiting for Ruby’s race.

“Nervous?” Yang said across Blake, her words directed at Weiss. The white haired girl nodded slightly, biting her nails out of pure habit. Yang nudged Blake’s shoulder and gestured for her to look at what Weiss was doing. “That’s her getting ready for tonight when Ruby goes back to her place.” Blake snorted.

“Do you think of _nothing_ else?!” Weiss snapped, looking as if a vein could explode at any moment from the look of pure anger she was showing. A boy with burnt orange hair stood up behind where Nora was sitting and directed his megaphone at Weiss. “You’re girlfriend’s gonna lose _Dyke Schnee!_ ”Weiss leaned over, snatched the megaphone out of Nora’s lap and jumped up.

“ **GO _FUCK_ YOURSELF CARDIN!**”

Blake was honestly taken aback by Weiss’ sudden battle cry. However she didn’t disagree with her at all. She turned around and flipped the guy off “Yeah, go fuck yourself!” She smirked and heard Yang laugh behind her. Cardin rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “ _Not another fucking faunus..._ ”

“ _What’d you say?_ ” Yang barked, already up and out of her seat, ready for a fight. Coco stood up from her seat and stretched her hands out in an attempt to soothe the situation. “ _Okay_ , guys calm down,” she pointed at Cardin “Stop pissing them off or you’re uninvited.” Cardin groaned and tossed his megaphone to the ground, slumping down in his seat.

The three girls sat back down, Weiss immediately going back to biting her nails as she tossed the megaphone back into Nora’s lap. Yang huffed and threw her arm over the back of Blake’s seat and watched as Weiss’ eye twitched. “ _What_?” Yang drawled, rolling her eyes. Weiss arched an eyebrow, staring straight forward into the stands. “Nothing.”

“If it’s _nothing_ then why do you look so bothered?” 

“ _Why_ do you feel the need to stick your nose in?” 

“Because we _all_ have to deal with your attitude-” Blake suddenly tried to shrink into the seat as Weiss and Yang argued back and forth over her. She’d stopped listening to the argument, instead zoning in on the other teams that were entering the field. “Hey Blake, has Yang told you the Neo story?” 

“The cat girl?” 

“No, there was another girl-“

“Weiss stop being a dick.” Yang growled and they both narrowed their eyes at each other. The rest of their friends were looking at them now. Maybe even a few people behind them had overheard and were looking at them. All of them had the same look of shock on their face. Blake’s mind was spinning. “Go on, _tell her._ ” Weiss nodded at her. All words looked to be caught in Yang’s throat, the wheels turning in her mind as she tried to come up with something to say. 

Blake placed a hand on her arm, drawing circles with her thumb. “You don’t need to tell me.” She mouthed to Yang as to not offended Weiss, but she saw her roll her eyes and slump back in her seat anyway. Ren stood up “Weiss switch seats with me.” Weiss begrudgingly switched sweats with Ren. 

Blake was confused, so naturally, she turned her head to Yang in search for some sort of answer. The blonde sighed and her head fell. “I’ll tell you about Neo, I promise-“

“Yang, tell me whatever you want, whenever you want. Just don’t feel like you can’t trust me-“

“ _No_! I do trust you, I’m just...” she looked up at Blake with the most vulnerable look in her eyes, like a puppy after being given into trouble “I’m just scared of what you might think.” Blake was _fucked_ with that one look. So far, she’d seen Yang with all of her bravado and charm, even seeing what she thought to be her soft side when she would get flustered. But this looked like a painful memory. She’d love to just make it go away for her. 

“Here she comes!” Jaune squealed excitedly. 

The cheers picked up around them and their eyes snapped back to the field. Ruby was being hyped up by a girl with ginger hair who was practically shaking her into another world. “That’s Ruby’s friend Penny, she’s... _nuts_? Yeah that’s the word.” Ren said, filling Blake in on the details. 

The group stood up, moving to lean over the barrier to get a better view of the race. Yang pulled out her phone, letting it rest on the camera app. “That’s cute, recording your sisters race.” Blake giggled and nudged Yang’s shoulder. The blonde smirked and leaned over the railing. “I told my uncle Qrow I’d record it for him because he couldn’t make it but...” she glanced back to the still empty seat. 

“Your dad couldn’t make it?” Blake asked, only gaining a solemn shake of the head from Yang. “Apparently not...” Blake squeezed Yang’s shoulder reassuringly. Yang shook her head and looked over at Weiss, who had already been looking over at them. 

“Where’s Tai?” Weiss asked, looking like she was about to burst into tears. Yang shook her head “If he was coming then he’d be here by now-“

“Prick-“

“Weiss that’s my dad, besides it’s starting.” Yang said, gesturing for her to watch the field again. The blonde pulled up her phone, clicking the record button. Ruby and several other contestants from other schools took their marks at their posts, legs stretched back, backs arched, hands gripping the ground. 

Everyone waited in suspense.

_** BANG!  ** _

The gun fired and they were off. Blake bit her lip as she saw Ruby sprinting, she was a little behind, lagging in the middle of the other runners. Then Ruby started to pick up speed, getting faster and faster with each step, causing Blake to smile and laugh giddily. Ruby had surpassed the other runners, gliding across the finish line in literal record time. 

“ _ **SHE DID IT!**_ ” Weiss yelled and jumped into Pyrrha, who awkwardly held her, not exactly knowing what to do. Ruby was doubled over, trying to catch her breath, but she looked up at them all, smiled and waved. “God she actually broke the record!” Yang said excitedly, looking over at Weiss. The silver haired girl nodded profusely. “I’ve gotta go.” Weiss exclaimed. Blake furrowed her brow. 

“Go where-“ 

Blake cut herself off with a strangled groan as she watched Weiss hop over the railing, jumping down onto the field. “ _Oh my god..._ ” Yang grinned as they watched Weiss sprint across the field, gripping Ruby’s shoulders and jumping into her arms, pressing a kiss to her lips. “What did I just witness?” Jaune asked, rubbing his eyes in surprise. 

“I don’t know, but I got it all on video- _oh, Blake this is gold!_ ” Yang squealed with excitement. Blake gazed out over the field. She saw how no one wanted to interrupt the moment Weiss and Ruby were having. Everyone cheered and clapped for them but no one directly intervened. “They’re cute...” Blake said dreamily. 

“You’re cute.” 

“Dork.” She rolled her eyes and smiled. “You’re gonna hear this in the background of the video y’know.” Blake giggled. Yang shrugged “It’s only my uncle and my dad that’ll be seeing it anyway.” 

“Is there something going on with your dad or- actually, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked-“

“No it’s fine, he’s a teacher at Signal but he’s always super busy. So it’s no surprise he couldn’t make it...” Yang chuckled dryly “He’ll be pissed he didn’t get to see her break the record though.”

“At least you and Weiss got to see.” 

“Yeah I guess...” The blonde nodded and stood up straight, stretching her limbs out. “Jesus Christ, that’s not even a kiss anymore, they’re basically fucking!” Coco exclaimed, whipping off her aviators out of sheer disbelief at what she was watching. “Coco be nice-“

“ _But_ -“ 

“ _Coco_!” 

Coco sighed and slipped her aviators back over her eyes, pressing a kiss to Velvet’s forehead as an apology. “Whipped.” Nora giggled. The two brunettes growled at her. Blake now realised why they were a duo that you didn’t want to get between. Yang sighed as she tapped at her phone, holding it up to her ear as she walked off. Blake watched as she walked to the side, just out of earshot. 

“Just give her a moment, I think there’s something going on between Yang and her dad.” Pyrrha said softly, providing some sort of explanation to Blake. The faunus nodded slightly a small frown forming on her face. “She’ll probably tell you about it.” The redheaded girl smiled at her with an odd knowing look. 

One of Blake’s ears perked up, the other flopping over. “I don’t like that look.” Blake giggled. Pyrrha closed her eyes and hit her lip, chuckling to herself. “What did she tell you?” Pyrrha inched a little closer to Blake, brushing their shoulders together. “For a start, she said you were a good kisser.” Pyrrha laughed aloud when Blake covered her face with her hands, her ears pinning back. 

“I can’t believe she told you...” Blake groaned, dragging her hands down her face as she looked back up at Pyrrha. “ _Relax_ , I’m the only one who knows, but settle a bet for me?” Pyrrha asked. Blake arched a brow at her skeptically. “ _Sure_?”

“Which one of you made the move?” Pyrrha grinned as Blake bit her lip and chuckled lightly. Her eyes flitted back over at Pyrrha before averting again as she laughed nervously. “So it was you!” 

“Yang was going to! I think she got nervous so...” 

“Me and Weiss bet that it’d be you to make the first move.” Pyrrha laughed, glancing back over her shoulder at Weiss and Ruby, who were now walking towards the stands with Ruby’s duffel bag in tow. “Why me?” Blake asked with a genuine curiosity. She knew she didn’t exactly come across as shy but she certainly didn’t have the amount of confidence Yang exuded either. 

“Well Weiss will _always_ bet against Yang and I haven’t saw her this flustered over someone in a long time.” Pyrrha smiled that same dazzling smile she always did. No wonder Jaune swooned. “Yeah well... I do really like her...” Blake admitted sheepishly. “She likes you too, she’s even started reading.” 

“She mentioned that... I don’t think Adam would have ever done that for me.” She blurted out. 

“What’s happening with your boyfriend if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s a long story, but the short version is we broke up and I feel ten times better.” They both laughed at each other. “It was for the best really, the guy was _insane_.” Blake swirled her index finger around her temple and they both laughed again. Yang walked back towards them, raising her eyebrows at the girls as she jammed her hands in her pockets. The blonde looked between the two girls, both of them trying their best to withhold an innocent expression. 

“You told her didn’t you?” Yang smirked at Pyrrha, who smiled innocently. “It was nothing you two didn’t already know.” She shrugged, Pyrrha glanced back at the rest of their friends, who were teasing Weiss, evident by how red the girls face was. “If you guys want to go get something to eat without us before the match later, I could make an excuse.” Pyrrha flashed her eyebrows at Yang. 

“Pyrrha, your niceness knows no bounds.” Yang placed her hand on her heart and shook her head dramatically. Blake snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes before looking back over at their group. Ruby looked unbelievably pleased with herself- but who wouldn’t be? She broke a record, won the race and Weiss. A three for one deal. “Aren’t you gonna stick around for Ruby’s victory?” Blake said. Yang winced. 

“Sorry, did I say something?”

“No, you’re good, but... yeah we’ll go do Ruby’s thing. Will you come with me whilst I swing by my house first?” Blake nodded at her, folding her arms over her chest as she stepped forward “Yeah, of course.” The blonde smiled and pressed a reassuring touch to Blake’s waist before almost immediately pulling away. “I need to make another call but I’ll meet you out at my bike.” Blake could only nod dumbly as Yang walked off again. 

“What did I say?” She asked Pyrrha who only widened her eyes for a moment. “It’s Yang’s story to tell, but I’m sure she appreciates your concern.”

“I still feel shitty though...” 

“She’ll be fine-“

Both of their heads whipped around to see Neptune crashing into the seats, Weiss’ heel pressing into his back and Ruby looking very impressed. Pyrrha sighed deeply. “This is going to be a regular thing isn’t it?” Jaune said as he walked up to them. Pyrrha nodded. 

Blake was inclined to agree. 

* * *

The ride to Yang’s house was oddly silent. The blonde was usually all for noise making and huge grins that could brighten up even the darkest days. Instead it was replaced with silence and a downcast expression that casted over her. Yang tied her hair back as she got off of her bike, strolling towards her house. Blake followed quietly behind her. 

Their house was incredibly cozy from the get-go. The hallway was littered with medals and trophies that were spread out across the walls and tables that decorated the room. A quick glance to the living room revealed a large sofa that sat in the middle of the room, a coffee table in front and a tv. 

“I can’t believe he’s not here.” Yang huffed as she barrelled down the stairs, walking down the hallway to meet Blake. The raven haired girl sighed and reached out to grab hold of Yang’s wrist. “What’s going on?” She said, giving her wrist a gentle squeeze. 

“My dad never misses _any_ of Ruby’s races... so he must actually have a lot of work on this time.” Yang shook her head and turned the tables on Blake, shifting her wrist out of her grasp before grabbing her hand and leading her into the living room. “Does that mean he doesn’t usually come to your games?” Blake asked, her ears flopping. 

“Sometimes he does- but he doesn’t really need to. He knows I do great.”

“That’s not really an excuse...” 

“He just works a lot is all, I was just hoping he’d be here so I could at least complain about it.” Yang laughed bitterly and shrugged. Blake laughed with her. The sofa sunk when Yang plopped herself down. “You’re allowed to be mad you know...” 

“Yeah?” 

“I don’t know the whole story but... I think you’re allowed to be mad.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Just a feeling.” Blake shrugged and sat down next to Yang, her knees knocking off of the blondes when she turned to face her. Yang looked at Blake intently, biting her lip, concentrating on something. The raven haired girl raised an eyebrow and giggled lightly “Did I say something?” Yang shook her head, still biting her lip. 

“I don’t know whether or not to tell you about Neo...” 

“Who was she?” 

“She was my girlfriend for like six months or something like that...” Yang gulped, looking visibly nervous. Blake’s eyes widened. She expected that but it had still surprised her. “You can tell me...” she said without knowing she was saying it, she just wanted to know more about what happened. 

“She was cool. She barely ever spoke but she was cool.” Yang chuckled as she played with her hoodie drawstrings “But Pyrrha and Weiss would always say there was something that wasn’t quite right.” 

“The best friend instincts kicked in?” 

“Yeah I guess so!” Yang choked out a laugh “Neo would always try her best to rile me up, like she’d always say something mean to get a reaction, but I’d never do it... then one day I did... and I’ve _never_ forgot about it.” 

“What... what happened?” 

“I remember her saying something about my mom and I just... snapped- god, sorry, I’m shitty at this.” Yang ran her hands through her bangs, ruffling them before dragging her hands back down her face and into her lap. “She burst my lip, I broke her nose, it just kept going from there until Pyrrha found us.” 

Blake took a moment to process. So she wasn’t the only one with an abusive ex? This couldn’t have been anymore of a coincidence than it already was- maybe it was fate. Or maybe Yang was... no. She was too kindhearted. The blonde threw her arm over the back of the sofa, turning completely to face Blake. 

“I-I just wanted to let you know, especially with Adam and everything going on. Just in case you wanted to change your mind about me-“ Blake clamped her hand over her mouth, stopping her from continuing. 

“Can I ask you something?” Blake murmured. Yang could only nod due to the hand over her mouth. “If I-we...” Blake mentally scolded herself for stuttering like an idiot “Would... would you lose your tempter like that with me?” It was really the only question Blake had. It was the one nagging feeling at the back of her brain that begged her to ask. She removed her hand from Yang’s mouth. 

“I promise I won’t... that time was different. She was provoking me on purpose, she wanted- I’m just gonna stop talking.” Yang chuckled nervously, her eyes darting back and forth between Blake’s eyes and the ground. Yang grinned at her and Blake knew she was trying to shift the mood. “You could’ve just told me to shut up y’know?” 

“I didn’t know if that would work.” 

“Well we’ll remember for next time to bring a gag”-

“ _Oh shut up!_ ”

Blake felt the warmth of Yang’s hand intertwine with her own. “I’m sorry.” The raven haired girl smiled reassuringly. She wanted to somehow convey to her that she cared. That she was going to return the favour for everything Yang had done for her.

“For what?” 

“The thing with Neo. I just thought I needed to tell you.” 

“Don’t apologise, I’m glad you told me, you could’ve easily just _not_ told me, but you did...” Blake’s smile turned soft which caused a heartfelt look to appear in Yang’s eyes “...and that means something to me.” 

Blake wasn’t lying. It did mean something to her. It meant a lot of things. It meant that she now knew what Yang was capable of if anyone was stupid enough to press her buttons but she was also aware that she felt remorse for what she did. But most of all, she knew Yang telling her this meant that she cared, meant that she wanted Blake to know so she could decide on what to do based on that. 

No one had ever given her that power to choose before. The ability to control what was going to happen. 

“Thank you for telling me.” Blake said, pulling away from but letting her hand still rest within the other girls. Yang smiled, soft and sincere, before her eyes widened. Blake’s ears pinned to her head “What is it?” 

“I’ve never really noticed how many piercings you have.” Yang giggled. Blake giggled as well, she would never forget her piercings. Her human ears were littered with them as she wasn’t allowed to get them on her faunus ears until she was twenty-one. “You like them?” 

“Hell yeah, they’re so cool!” Yang exclaimed as she hopped up to her feet, letting go of Blake’s hand as she did so. The faunus missed the warmth of the hand in her own. “Wanna get going before they complain I’m taking too long?” 

“Don’t you mean ‘ _we_ ’?” 

“No, I meant _I_ because _I_ get really sidetracked quickly and you don’t.” 

“I get sidetracked sometimes.” Blake smirked at Yang as they walked through the hallway, Yang locking the door behind them as they left. “Oh really, sidetracked by what?” The blonde raised an eyebrow and held a smug grin. 

“By you.” Blake winked at her and Yang’s smug attitude was shattered. She was evidently flustered by the choking sound she made as her smile faltered. Blake smiled to herself as she was walking towards the bike. “What’re you waiting for?” She waved for Yang to follow her. 

“I really don’t know...” the blonde muttered under her breath, jogging to catch up to Blake. 

* * *

Yang drove them to a rundown diner, completely empty aside from their group of friends who were crowded around a few booths, laughing at each other. Blake smiled absentmindedly. She never would’ve expected to actually make friends. She’d only ever had Adam and Ilia so having a lot of people to call her friends was a little... strange. But in a good way. Yang nudged her arm and gestured towards Weiss, who had tucked herself into Ruby’s side.

“Ha, _gay_.” Yang grinned and pointed towards them. Weiss furrowed her brow and pointed back at her. “Look who’s talking!” Weiss snarled, clearly annoyed that her blissful moment was ruined by the arrival of Yang. The blonde shrugged and held her hand out, gesturing for Blake to sit in the booth before her. Blake rolled her eyes and snickered, sliding into the booth.

However when she sat down, she noticed the lack of space there was due to the amount of people sitting in the booth. She also momentarily forgotten that Yang was a star athlete, a beast of a girl, who would take up much more than the tiny space next to her. So when Yang tried to sidle in beside her, they both laughed at how the blonde was half on the seat as her arm took up some space.

Blake expected Yang to offer to stand or even switch to pulling a chair over, because that’s the kind of person she was; kind. Instead, Yang threw her arm over Blake’s shoulders, which her cheeks immediately burned because of. She twisted her head to look at Yang, who bit the side of her lip in contemplation of something. Blake giggled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Should we say something to them?” Coco asked, flicking down her aviators for a better look at the two girls. Nora shook her head, watching the other two girls. “No don’t, it’s like a nature documentary.” Nora said causing Coco to look at Ren and mouth ‘what?’. Ren just shrugged. 

“Why’s it like that?” 

“I don’t know... it’s like two bees trying to figure out how to pollinate.” Nora murmured. This time Coco looked flabbergasted. She turned to Velvet and pulled off her sunglasses. “ _Why_ did that make sense?” She asked with a genuine curiosity. Velvet could only laugh and shake her head. Neptune eyed Weiss and Ruby, nodding his head. 

“I always knew you had a thing for Ruby.” He directed at Weiss, who looked at everyone in disbelief of what he’d just said. Sun furrowed his brow and turned to look at Neptune. “Dude, _everyone_ knew that-“

“ _Exactly_.” Weiss chimed in. 

“Listen man, I don’t voice my opinion like that.”

“You do nothing but voice your opinion.” 

“When?” 

“You always tell me what you think about what I’m wearing, eating, saying, doing-“ 

“Neptune is bitchy is what he’s trying to say.” Ruby said dryly to the rest of the group, who chuckled in response. “Yang, was dad home?” Ruby asked, her sister snapping her head in her direction to listen to her. The blonde shook her head “No, he wasn’t there.” Ruby sighed and cuddled into Weiss. 

“You kids are having a party? And I wasn’t invited?” 

Everyone’s heads snapped to the door, where a tall man, who looked quite rough, strolled towards them. He was hunched forward with his hands stuffed in his pockets, a sly smirk on his face. Blake looked over at Ruby, who was in awe of what she was seeing. 

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby yelled, jumping up out of the booth, running over and hugging the man tightly. The man laughed, a low raspy rumble of a sound and hugged Ruby back. “I saw your race kiddo.” Ruby pulled back, a look of anticipation on her face “You’re working hard, I’m proud of ya’.” The brunette practically exploded with happiness from the approval of her uncle. 

“Hey firecracker, how’re you?” Qrow said, whipping a chair out from under another table and pulling it to the side of the booth to sit down on. “I’m fine, how’re you _old man?_ ” Yang smirked, cocking her head to the side innocently. Qrow pouted and pointed accusingly at her “Watch it, I’m in my prime!” He said proudly. Qrow paused when he spotted Blake, his focus zeroing in on her. 

“Oh I see how it is Yang,” Qrow smirked and turned back to the rest of the group “She’s always been the same, acting up to impress someone.” 

Blake awkwardly laughed with everyone else, Yang remained with a pout. “I have not-“

“Oh don’t give me that, I remember a couple years back when a girl you liked told you she didn’t like braces so you tried to cut them off-“

“I tried to cut them off because they hurt.” Yang grinned. Qrow huffed out a laugh and leaned back in his chair. Blake was honestly in awe of how low and rough his voice was. “By the way, I don’t believe we’ve met, what’s your name kid?” Qrow directed at Blake. 

“My name’s Blake, it’s nice to meet you.” She smiled politely. Qrow nodded slowly “I’m Yang and Ruby’s uncle, Qrow, I hope my niece doesn’t annoy you too much.” He and Yang glared at each other. Blake shook her head “She’s great, I would say that about Ruby but I don’t know where Weiss draws the line with compliments.” 

Weiss choked and Ruby snickered as she looked at her uncle. “She’s my girlfriend now.” The brunette said proudly, slinking her arm around Weiss’ waist, who would usually bat her away in these situations but... she didn’t really have a reason to anymore did she? 

Qrow rolled his eyes “Young love.” His eyes darted around, looking for his next victim, before landing on Jaune. “How’s you’re writing coming along Jaune.” He nodded. The blonde boy sat up, a glint in his eye “I think I’m doing okay, Pyrrha helps me edit a lot of it but... I think-“ 

Blake zoned out and turned her attention back to Yang, lowering her voice to a whisper. “ _Firecracker_?” She giggled up at Yang who rolled her eyes fondly in response. “The afore mentioned anger issues led to that nickname.” The blonde threw her head in Qrow’s direction “Only old dudes have nicknames for their kids.” 

“ _Show off_ , save all that impressing for your game.” 

“Are you coming to watch with us?” Pyrrha asked, resting her chin on her hand. Qrow nodded “I’am, I’m gonna be sticking around for a while, I’ve got a job as a politics teacher at your school.” He grinned proudly. 

“What do you know about politics?” Ruby snarked, raising an eyebrow at him. “A lot actually. Plus me and Ozpin go way back.” 

“So you know nothing and it was just luck.” 

“Pretty much- _Hey!_ ” Qrow barked, the sudden realisation that his niece was teasing him set in. He stood up, shoving the chair under the other table again. Yang and Ruby laughed at each other, triumphant in their victory over their uncle. Qrow looked at his watch and shoved a hand back in his pocket. 

“Well I’ve gotta get outta here, you kids will ruin my reputation.” He joked, pushing his hair back as he walked away. “What reputation?” Yang yelled after him. Her uncle turned to face her when he reached the door and shook his fist before leaving. Blake blinked in sudden realisation of what Jaune had said earlier. 

“Wait, you’re writing a book?” She said towards Jaune who blushed and scratched his neck nervously. “Yeah, it’s not all that good though...” he said sheepishly. Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder “It’s getting there.” She said smiling at Jaune. 

Blake’s ears perked up, one of them lightly smacking against Yang’s cheek (although she didn’t seem to mind.) “I could help you if you’d like.” Blake said, a hidden excitement in her voice. She had written things on her own before. Small poems in the notes of her phone, short stories tucked away in the documents on her laptop. She just had a passion for literature... as nerdy as that sounded. 

“She’s super into books, with her and Pyrrha helping you, you’d have a bestseller.” Yang winked at him. The blonde boy bit his lip, contemplating what to do. “Yeah, that’d be great if you could help!” Pyrrha answered for him, her tone as cheerful as ever. Jaune sighed, his lips curling into a small smile “Thanks Blake.” She nodded at him. 

Blake really couldn’t believe this was where her life had led her. She never once thought she’d have a group of friends other than Adam and Ilia in her lifetime. Yet here she was. Doing what she loved with people she liked. 

“We’re gonna have to go get ready soon.” Pyrrha said, checking the time on her phone. Yang groaned and threw her head back dramatically. “She’s more of a Captain than you.” Coco laughed as she slid out of the booth and smacked Yang’s shoulder. The blonde rolled her eyes and begrudgingly got out of the booth, pulling her arm away from Blake. 

“Blake, do you want to ride with me?” Velvet asked, widening her eyes for a moment to gesture that she wasn’t offering, she was telling her to ride with her. Blake nodded as and slid out of the booth as well “Yeah,” she turned to Yang “is that alright?” The blonde nodded before feigning disappointment. 

“Oh, how I’ll miss you gripping on for dear life on the back of my bike!” Blake rolled her eyes and pushed her arm. “Want me to be your damsel in distress?” Coco said, glancing at Velvet with a knowing look. The blonde nodded again, looking back at Blake as her and Coco began to walk to the door. “I’ll see you soon.” She mouthed. 

* * *

Velvet’s car was extremely nice. It was a beige Range Rover, the inside of it was black and the seats were comfy. Blake was living in luxury. Velvet groaned and beeped her horn at Jaune, they could both see him going on a tangent to Ren and Nora about something. The problem was Velvet couldn’t get out of her parking spot if he didn’t move. So to say the rabbit faunus was getting annoyed was an understatement. 

“Why’d you want me to ride with you?” Blake asked, now watching as Pyrrha questioned Jaune, adorning a confused look on her face. Velvet’s ears flicked up, smacking off of the roof of the car. “Oh, I was going to ask if you’d asked out Yang yet?” 

“I haven’t.”

“She’s such a good person, you should ask her.”

“I did kiss her though-“ Blake jumped when Velvet whipped her head around, a shocked expression on her face. “When?!” She said breathily, exasperated from the shock of this sudden revelation. “Last week?” Blake smiled wonkily, Velvet only looked more shocked. 

“We’re in the library together all the time, why haven’t you told me!” 

“I don’t know, I didn’t think it was that big of a thing.” 

“It is to me!” Velvet pouted and turned back to face out the window. She grinned when she finally saw Jaune driving forward, allowing her to start up the car. Blake felt relieved that the car was moving now, but also extremely worried for the group in Jaune’s car as she witnessed Nora literally jump in her seat. 

“It’s cute though, I haven’t saw Yang actually like someone in a long time.” Velvet’s smile faltered. “She told me about Neo earlier, I’m guessing it’s since then?” 

“Yeah, since then it’s just been one night stands and that weird thing with Neon.” 

“What was the thing with Neon?”

“The thing was Yang really wanted to sleep with her, _which Neon knew_ , so she strung her along for as long as she could. They’re still quite good friends though, they just have nothing between them.”

Blake nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. She knew who Neon was now, she also knew that Neon probably thought she was insane due to the stunt she pulled at that party. Maybe she should just stop drinking so she wouldn’t do things like that? Blake spotted a bag full of red cups and shot cups in the back seat. 

“Are those for Coco’s party?” 

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a nightmare.” Velvet said, before her lips upturned into a devious smile “By the way, Coco only lets our friends into her room during these parties.” 

“I’ll probably use her room, but not for the reason you think.”

“Yeah, double hearing, being a faunus is terrible at a party, I’m aware.” 

The car went silent as they drove. Blake sank back into her thoughts again, drifting to how Neon would probably be at this party again and she’d have to explain that she wasn’t a jealous bitch... just a little jealous. She had to admit though, Neon seemed fun, definitely more Yang’s type- _okay_ , now she was just betting against herself. 

She looked out the window to Weiss’ car, that was a little further down the street from them. She knew it was Weiss’ car because she didn’t stop honking her horn for moment. “ _Of course she’d have road rage._ ” Blake murmured and could see Velvet nodding in agreement out of the corner of her eye. The raven haired girl kept watching as Weiss honked her horn. 

She then realised the car she was honking at was Jaune’s. It might be a while before they made it to the school. 

* * *

Yang and Coco were the first people to enter the locker room for once. Usually the entire team was there except them. They’d stroll in late, get lectured by Pyrrha, then go onto the field and kick ass.

But today, they were the first two here. The captain had finally showed up early. 

The only sounds in the room were Coco humming to herself, locker doors slamming and the soft rustle of fabric from them getting changed. Yang slammed her locker door shut, cracking her knuckles as she turned around. She was tempted to grab her phone, to text Blake and ask if they were here yet. 

But that seemed more clingy than cute and endearing so she didn’t. 

“What’d you think about Velvet’s present?” Coco asked, turning around as well and sitting down on the bench in the centre of the room. Yang followed suit, sitting down as well. “I liked it, although I don’t think you should be showing me stuff like that.” 

“What? You wouldn’t like to see Blake in a teddy?” Coco snickered, her expression unreadable as she still wore her aviators, but Yang knew she was teasing her. “Don’t be a dick... but I _totally_ would.” They both laughed. 

“I feel like a guy when I talk to you about this stuff.” Yang said. Coco shrugged “It’s a normal thing to talk about, it’s just a little taboo I think.” The brunette ruffled her hair before pushing her sunglasses back. “I don’t know why you haven’t just asked her out yet.”

“Yeah me either, I was thinking about why I haven’t earlier.”

“ _And_?” 

“I still don’t know...” Yang chuckled and began to tie her hair back. She knew exactly why she hadn’t yet. Partly it was because she thought that it might be too soon after Blake’s breakup with Adam. But also because Blake made her _unbelievably_ nervous which had never happened before with a girl.  “Well let’s name the positives, she’s hot, really nice, smart, _nice ass-_ “

“ _Coco_!”

“Yang the first thing you said to me about her was that she had a great ass.”

“Yeah but that was before I actually knew her,” Yang grinned cockily “Now she’s more than just a great ass- _okay I need to stop talking._ ” They both laughed at each other. 

It was a good thing their conversation ended when it did, because their team members began piling through the door, Pyrrha included. Although she did look a little annoyed. Yang payed it no mind. She stood up on the bench over everyone. 

“Hope you’re all psyched because it’s showtime people!”

* * *

Okay, so maybe Blake wasn’t a lover of football. But she’d done well, so far she’d sat through twenty minutes of waiting for the teams to come out, whilst everyone screamed around her. She sat at the end of the row of friends, between an empty seat and Yang’s uncle Qrow. Which she didn’t mind because he was actually quite a nice guy. 

“You look awfully familiar y’know.” Qrow said to Blake, which caught her off guard slightly. She raised her eyebrow at him “I wonder how, I moved here from Menagerie.” She said. Qrow started at her intently, the cogs in his brain whirring and turning, before his eyes widened and he grinned. “ _Ghira’s daughter!_ ” He exclaimed. 

“You know my dad?” 

“Yeah, my old job meant that I had to go to White Fang meetings from time to time, I thought I knew you.” His eyes slipped past her and landed on the empty seat next to her. He spun in his seat, tapping Ruby who sat beside him. “Where’s your dad?” He asked. Ruby shrugged slightly. 

“He wasn’t at my race earlier either. Yang said she wasn’t sure where he was.” 

“He’s _always_ the same!”

“Qrow, he must be busy.” 

“Too busy to take an hour or two out of his day? Bullshit, I’m over here, being uncle of the _goddamn_ year-“

Music started up as the cheerleaders began their routine, the teams beginning to march out onto the field, smiling and waving at the screaming crowds on the bleachers. They all stood up to see Yang, who stood at the front of the line with a plastic smile on her face as she waved. It softened and turned real when she looked at Blake, winking at her. Blake blushed and smiled back. 

“Oh, my girl’s smitten with you.” Qrow nudged Blake’s arm, causing her to laugh. “She never mentioned she had a girlfriend the last time I spoke to her.” 

“Oh, I’m not her girlfriend-“

“ _What?!_ ” Qrow looked at Ruby for confirmation, who again shrugged and smirked slyly at Blake. “Oh sorry, is it just standard to wear Yang’s jacket and be tucked under her arm?” He said sarcastically, drawing laughs from the other half of their friends.

“She says that, but I bet you’ll be seeing her around the house a lot.” Weiss chuckled. Blake could do nothing but blush and keep her eyes trained on the field, forcing herself to look at Sun and Neptune botching their routine instead of looking at Yang. Qrow scoffed. “I’m gonna be seeing you too, you’re not exactly in a position to give her shit.” Weiss blushed and sat back in her seat with no retort. 

They all sat back down and it sank in for Blake how easily it was for her to talk to Qrow. It must just be a thing that runs in the family. 

The next fifty minutes after the match had started were unbelievably painful. Painful for Yang as she tackled and was tackled by many women in order to let Pyrrha and Coco score but also painful for Blake to watch. Qrow and Ruby however, got a burst of emotion each time Yang tackled someone. 

Like right now for example, Yang lunged forward, taking a girl to the ground without trouble, hopping back up and sprinting before the girl could recover. 

“ **THAT’S MY GIRL, TACKLE HER ANKLES!** ” 

“Qrow that’s _not_ a real thing!”

“Trust me Ruby, they’ll _never_ expect the ankle tackle!” 

“ _It doesn’t work!_ ”

The crowed cheered around them as Pyrrha scored again, Jaune looking ecstatic at seeing her do so. The score was even, 20-20, they had a little over five minutes to score again to win. Blake may not have been a lover of football due to her fathers obsession with it, but she prayed that they were going to win.

Yang and Coco shared a look and a nod, before Coco turned to the bleachers, looking up at their group of friends and grinned widely. Velvet let out a sigh and her ears flopped down to cover her face whilst Ruby just nodded fervently at Coco. Blake arched her brow, looking down the row, looking for one of them to explain what was going to happen.

“They’re using what they call the _caffeine rush_ tactic...” Velvet mumbled. Blake half smirked “What does that mean?” Everyone sighed in unison, looking completely defeated.

Ren turned to face her “It’s when the entire team protect Yang in order to get her to the end goal.” Blake nodded, pretending she knew what that meant other than the entire team are going to get very hurt. Blake’s eyes shifted back to the field, Yang stood low to the ground with a cock smirk on her face. Just as Ren had explained Coco tossed the ball back to Yang, who bolted across the field, avoiding everyone.

It was when Yang reached the end goal, bouncing the ball down off of the ground and throwing her arms in the air triumphantly just as the buzzer went, signalling it was time up, that Blake let out a tiny shriek of excitement. The entire team sprinted and crowded around her, Nora jumping on her shoulders and Pyrrha hugging her. Whilst Coco just nodded solemnly.

Blake wasn’t going to pretend that she knew anything that had just happened or what position Yang was so she could comment on it. But she was extremely happy to see the blonde win.

Qrow leaned over Ruby and placed a hand over the side of his mouth. “ _I see what you mean._ ” 

* * *

Everyone was waiting outside of the school, leaning against their cars. They passed the time by listening to Velvet rant and rave about how she was going to kill Coco if she didn’t hurry up. There were so many people emptying out of the school. Blake really didn’t know the scale of a high school football game until that moment. She enjoyed it though. 

Coco, Pyrrha and Nora came out together, all three of them grinning like idiots. Nora flopped into Jaune’s car, lying across the back seats whilst Coco was immediately getting an earful from Velvet for taking too long. Pyrrha stopped in front of Blake and threw her thumb towards the school. “Yang’s still in the locker room, she shouldn’t take too long.” 

“I’ll just go get her then,” Blake nodded and waved at everyone “I’ll see you guys tonight.” 

She took off through the school, her hair bouncing with each step she took. It was eery how quiet the school was, each hallway dark and empty, classrooms pitch black with their curtains shut. It gave her the creeps. She turned the corner and stopped. There was the distinct sound of shoes clacking against the floor. She glanced back around the corner and her heart stopped. 

She would recognise the red hair anywhere, it was Adam. She began to walk again, walking faster, glancing back to make sure he wasn’t catching up. Had anyone else saw him? Was it just her? Was he actually there or was she just paranoid? She twisted her head back and caught a glimpse of him walking after her. 

Nope, he was definitely there.

She pulled her phone out whilst she walked. 

> **Blake:** Adam’s stalking me
> 
> **Ilia:** wdym?
> 
> **Blake:** I mean he’s walking ten feet behind me and following me
> 
> **Ilia:** try lose him, I’ll talk to him later

Blake shrieked when she bumped into someone, dropping her phone. She bent down to grab it and jumped back before looking up at the other person. She let out a long sigh of relief when she looked up and saw Yang, her face riddled with concern.

“Are you okay?” Yang asked, reaching her hand out to tilt Blake’s phone downwards “The screen’s not cracked is it?” Blake shook her head and shoved it back in her pocket. “ _I-I-I, i-it’s just..._ ” she looked back along the corridor, there was no one there, no other sound. Blake could her heart beat, was aware of how it pounded in her chest, was aware of how her breath was short and ragged.

Instead of answering, she let herself fall against Yang’s chest, clutching onto the girls jacket. She felt her heart beat slow, her breathing return to normal, she felt safe now. Yang placed her hand on the small of Blake’s back, letting Blake rest there for a moment.

The raven haired girl pulled back, her hand’s still placed on Yang’s jacket. She glanced back. Still nothing there. “I _swear_ Adam was following me,” she murmured and knew Yang had heard her when the grip on her back tightened. “He was _right_ there, I _heard_ him- I _saw_ him...” she shook her head and looked down at her feet “Maybe I’m just crazy.”

Yang shifted her hand to Blake’s waist, pulling her closer as she ushered her to walk forward. “You’re not crazy Blake,” Yang said, sounding certain of her words “The only crazy you are is crazy hot!” She joked in an attempt to cheer Blake up. It worked. She giggled and leaned further into Yang’s side.

“Sorry I might have brain damage, one of those girls really did a number on me.” The blonde said, her eyes stealthily scanning every classroom and window they passed for any sign of Adam. Blake’s gulped as they came up to a corner, rounding it she bit her lip, anticipating the worst. Only for there to be no one there.

“I’m crazy.”

“Crazy smart.”

“Is this just gonna be a thing now?”

“Of course.”

They both continued to walk until they got outside. Yang tugging Blake close to her side and Blake feeling safe knowing that Yang was with her. She could get used to that feeling.

“Want me to get you something to drink for tonight again?” Yang asked as she attached her bag to the back of her bike. Blake nodded, her head swivelling around to see if she could spot Adam or his car. “Yeah please, are you picking me up?”

“Do you _really_ think I’m gonna say no?”

“ _I’m just checking._ ” Blake sang happily, a lot less paranoid now than she was a few minutes ago. Yang slumped herself down onto the bike, revving the engine and waiting for Blake to hold on. The raven haired girl wrapped her arms around her waist, pressing her face against Yang’s shoulder, she wrinkled her nose. Apparently her previous panic had caused her to go nose blind.

“Usually you smell pretty good _but_ -“

“Yeah, I need to shower, you’re just gonna need to cope until later.”

“I can accept that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooo, house party chapter next, are we psyched?


	7. Late Night Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang picks up Blake to go to Coco’s party. The party isn’t as scandalous as you’d think.

Blake was finishing drying her hair, her ears flinching from their sensitivity against the air that protruded from the hairdryer. She still had a while before she had to leave. A lot of time to get ready. Plus, she knew Yang would make them late on purpose. The blonde had claimed it was the ‘ _cool_ ’ thing to do.

She tossed the hairdryer to the side, before trotting around her room, looking for something to wear. Blake wanted to just collapse onto her bed after a few minutes of prowling through her wardrobe, trying on clothes then tossing them back inside. Why was this so hard for her? She knew she didn’t need to wear something fancy, it wasn’t that kind of party. ‘Just casual, but not sweatpants casual’ she repeated in her head.

She picked up a pair of black fishnets and shorts, dragging them up her legs. She then pulled on a hoodie, a few sizes too big, that draped over her shorts, but caught onto the centre of them, creating some sort of drape over her shorts. Blake’s finger traced over the purple designs on her arms, the rose’s that twisted around the arm and met at the cuff on her wrist. She had forgotten she had this hoodie. She slipped into a pair of white sneakers, contrasting against the darkness of her entire outfit.

Blake glanced at her phone on the bed, seeing a string of texts flooding through their group chat. 

> **Coco:** plz hurry
> 
> **Coco:** the place is packed already
> 
> **Coco:** and someone burst a keg so now velvet’s yelling
> 
> **Jaune:** how did that happen?
> 
> **Velvet:** idk and idc
> 
> **Nora:** she’s on a war path 

Blake rolled her eyes, watching as the chaos unfolded. She wondered what the mess would be like by the time she got there before her focus shifted to her hair as she picked up her brush. 

* * *

A few hours later and she was done with her makeup, skipping downstairs with her phone in hand and money safely tucked into her phone case, like the modern day smartass she was. Kali looked her up and down. “You look nice...” she said, her eyes trained on Blake’s legs. “Are they too much?” Blake asked sheepishly, picking at the fabric of her fishnets. 

Kali shook her head “ _No_ , I just forget your age sometimes...” she smiled weakly. Blake laughed and felt her phone buzz in her pocket. “Are you coming home later?” Her mother asked, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to find any signs of an answer on her daughters face.

Blake nodded “Yeah, but I can take my keys.” She threw her thumb in any direction, because truthfully she had _no idea_ where her keys were. “It’s fine, I’ll still be awake.” Her mother said. Her father appeared on the stairs, his feet dragging over their wooden floors. “Your friend’s outside.” He said.

“ _Right_ , bye, I’ll be back later!” She cooed before dashing out the door. She walked towards Yang who was leaning against her bike texting. She sported a black biker jacket, white t-shirt and dark grey trousers with yellow checks. She hadn’t even registered that Blake was walking towards her, too engrossed in her phone.

“You look good.” Blake said, resting her hands inside her kangaroo pocket. Yang jumped, stuffing her phone inside her pocket as she did so. She smiled, looking Blake up and down, her eyes lingering on her legs for a second too long. Blake was glad she wore them now. “You too...” the blonde said, sounding a little dazed.

“So are we going or are you just gonna stare at me?” Yang snapped into action, tossing herself over her bike and offering her hand for Blake to grab onto. Blake, like she’d grown so used to doing, hugged Yang’s waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Blake couldn’t help but smirk at the whiff of aftershave she smelt. 

“You smell much better than earlier, but I didn’t know you wore aftershave.” Yang shrugged, Blake’s head bobbing as she did so “I thought you’d like it.”

“I do.”

“Then mission accomplished, _next objective,_ ” she revved her engine “make it to Coco’s and hope the place is still in one piece.”

Blake giggled at her as they drove off, she never noticed her mother watching them from the living room window. 

* * *

By the time they got there, as predicted, the house was a mess. There were people everywhere and not in a socially awkward _I can’t be in a room with more than two people_ kind of way. _No no no_ , there were so many people that it was hard to get through the front door. It was like walking into a nightclub. 

Yang kept the bag of alcohol she had held close to her, making sure no one bumped into her as she walked through the crowd. She held Blake’s hand, leading her through and making sure they didn’t get separated. Blake was immediately overwhelming by different sounds due to her sensitive hearing and prayed they would make it somewhere quieter. They made it to the kitchen, which wasn’t much quieter, but a little more civilised. Instead of everyone bumping into each other, everyone stood crowded in groups. Speaking of which, there was a few of their friends.

“Hey, you _g-_ made it.” Jaune said through his hiccups. Nora shook her head and handed him another shot “Just _keep_ drinking.” Blake laughed and looked back at Yang, who handed her a full bottle of wine with no other context than that appeared to be what she was drinking tonight. “I’m definitely giving you the money back for this.” Blake pressed her index finger against Yang’s chest to emphasise her seriousness.

“Yeah, I know,” she smirked cockily “Doesn’t mean I _have_ to take it.” Yang reached inside her bag, pulling out a bottle of beer for herself. Blake struggled to get the cap off of the lid, the burning sensation hitting her throat as soon as she took a drink. “Nora, _check it_.” Yang said. Nora spun around, eager to see what Yang was doing, Blake tilted her head as well out of curiosity.

Yang raised the bottle to her lips, biting off the cap in one go. “Am I cool, or _am I cool?_ ” Yang said proudly, the bottle cap still caught between her teeth. Nora bounced around with drunken excitement over Yang opening a bottle with her teeth. Blake rolled her eyes fondly and took the bottle cap out of Yang’s mouth. “ _So cool_ ,” she shook her head as she looked past her, spotting Coco and Velvet go into the garden.

“I’m gonna go talk with Velvet.” Blake said, trying to silently ask if that was alright with a look in her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll catch up with you, I’m gonna wait for Ruby.” Yang said, jumping up to sit on the countertop, keeping her bag next to her so no one could steal from it. Blake nodded and walked off, slipping out the back door. 

Coco and Velvet were sitting on a beige sofa under the gazebo, a fire pit sat in front of them that acted as the only light source. It was really cute and spoke volumes about how rich Coco was. She walked over, drinking from her bottle of wine as she did so, slinking down on the sofa next to Neptune. “Nice outfit.” Coco said with a wonky smile. “Thanks.” Blake mumbled into her bottle as she took another drink.

Sun leaned over the back of the sofa, his head plopping down on Blake’s shoulder. “She wore _these_ for blondie~” His hand shot down to tug at Blake’s fishnets, snapping them back into place when he let go. Blake groaned and pushed his face away “I wore them because I liked them, I’m my own person you know.”

“She’s a feminist icon.” Neptune joked, clinking his cup with Sun’s. Blake smirked at them as she took another drink from her bottle “You guys are _assholes_.” She lightly kicked Neptune’s leg. The blue haired boy shrugged “It’s what we do.”

Blake’s attention turned back to Coco and Velvet, the rabbit faunus was sitting in Coco’s lap, nursing a red cup of whatever she was drinking. Coco nodded at Blake “Is Yang here?” Blake nodded at back at her “Yeah, she’s inside waiting for Ruby.”

“Then why’re you out here.”

“To get drunk and try spare my hearing for a few seconds.”

Velvet shrugged and twisted her head to look at Coco “She has a point.” The brunette pushed her sunglasses down, looking up to get a look at Sun, who was fuelling the fire pit with random twigs he was picking off of trees. “Do you have _nothing_ better to do?” Neptune said, butting in before Coco had a chance to question him.

“Not tonight,” Sun grinned “ _Unless_ you’re offering.”

“What is it with blondes and bad pick up lines?” Velvet cringed, groaning as she crawled out of Coco’s lap. Blake kept taking drinks from her bottle, her eyes wandering around, not knowing what to do now. Velvet stood up, dragging Coco with her, who held her waist possessively. ‘ _Drunk lesbians am I right?_ ’ Blake thought, before choking on her drink ‘ _What the fuck is wrong with me?_ ’

“Blake, Ruby’s here, you coming?” Yang yelled from the door. Blake nodded and stood up, staggering forward slightly. She looked down at her bottle, her eyes widening in realisation when she saw it was half empty. Had she really drank that much already? She walked forward towards the door, pretending she didn’t feel like flopping forward. 

Yang laughed and raised an eyebrow at her “Need some help?” Blake cocked her head to the side, feigning innocence. “Why would I?” She smiled confidently, strutting past Yang with the grace of Bambi after the first few moments of trying to walk. Yang followed after her, completely enamoured by the drunken mess in front of her. 

“Who’s up for shots!” Ruby squealed, filling up several cups whilst Weiss shook her head in disapproval. “This isn’t gonna end well...” she murmured to Blake who had leaned against the counter next to her. “Yang! Come take shots with me!” Ruby yelled over the music. Yang drained her beer, sliding it across the counter to get rid of it. 

“I don’t know if that’s the _greatest_ idea Rubes.” Yang said, pulling another beer out of her bag and cracking it open. Blake pouted at her “Too afraid to take a few shots?” she taunted. The blonde bit her lip and looked at Ruby, still pouring shots, then back at Blake who was leering at Yang. She let out a shaky sigh.

“Alright, I’ll take that action.” She said, smacking a hand on her sisters shoulder to signify that it was a ‘yes’ from her. Weiss rolled her eyes and joined Blake in watching the two sisters slam shot after shot, acting like it was a competition, until eventually Yang drank the last one, flicking the cup at Ruby. “T-Take that sis!” She boomed, staggering backwards into the countertop.

Blake laughed, clapped and whooped at Yang’s victory. Ruby was leaning her head on the counter, slamming it with her fist “ _Noooooooo_.” She cried, pulling herself back up and purposefully falling into Weiss so that the white haired girl would catch her. Weiss pressed a kiss to her head, pulling back and looking up at Yang, who was downing half of her beer.

“Are you okay?” Weiss asked. Yang’s head perked up and she raised her eyebrow at Weiss “I’m fine, why?” The white haired girl shook her head. Clearly there was something going on, but Blake had just completely finished her bottle of wine, so she didn’t have the brain capacity to figure it out. “How have you finished that? It’s only been an hour-“

“It’s been _an hour?!_ ” Blake said incredulously. She’s actually been here for an hour _already_? What had she been doing? Literally nothing. Yang laughed and held Blake’s waist loosely, coaxing her into following her. Blake did, not before swiping the bottle out of Yang’s hand and taking a drink from it first.

“No, not again, I’ll get you your own one.” Yang said, quickly backing away to grab a bottle from her bag, pouring whatever it was into a cup for Blake to drink. Blake laughed and took another drink from her beer, trading it with Yang for a red cup. “It’s cider.” Yang said, answering a question that was never asked.

She glanced towards the living room, packed with people dancing and laughing, their own friends included. “You wanna dance?” Yang asked, already guiding Blake by the hand towards the living room again. “Something tells me I don’t have a choice.” Blake chuckled, moving forward so that she was close to Yang as they moved through the sea of people.

“You’ve always got a choice,” Yang smiled broadly “unless you just _can’t_ dance?”

“ _I can dance!_ ”

“Bust some moves then Belladonna!” They both laughed as they found a space to stand somewhere towards the centre of the room. Admittedly it was far too cramped for Blake to dance (that was her excuse) so it was mostly just everyone swaying and bouncing off of each other. Yang however, in her intoxication, didn’t care if she was bumping into anyone (she already was anyway) and it was _very_ amusing for Blake to watch.

Yang awkwardly bent over, grinding herself against Blake, who could only choke out a flustered laugh and slap her on the back. Blake looked around, getting a weird feeling all of a sudden, but as her vision spun she realised it was just because she was very drunk. Yang’s hand was around her waist again, looking past Blake and scowling at someone. The raven haired girl didn’t know who she was scowling at but she was almost certain it was for her benefit.

The blonde leaned down so it was easier for Blake to hear her. “You see that guy over there?” The faunus followed Yang’s eyes, landing on a boy with dark hair, dressed in a hoodie under a denim jacket. “Yeah, what about him?” Blake said, her eyes turning back to meet Yang’s.

“He used to be super cocky, then he hooked up with Neptune and everyone found out he only has one ball.” They both burst out laughing. Blake pressed her head against Yang’s chest, feeling a little dazed from laughing so much. Yang cupped Blake’s cat ears, shielding her from the noise for a few moments. Blake was overwhelmed by this feeling of safety. Of _happiness_ and _fun_ that she hadn’t felt in a long time, and it was all just flooding to her in that moment.

Her hands trailed along Yang’s arms until they were lazily thrown over her shoulders. She pulled back, tilting her head up to look at the blonde. “What?” Blake bit her bottom lip, her smile still managing to seek through. Yang was smiling faintly down at her. “It’s cute when you do that y’know.”

“Do what?”

“You think you’re smiling too much, get nervous and bite your lip.”

“You don’t get enough credit for how perceptive you are.” Yang chuckled and shrugged. “I’ve been telling Weiss that for years-“

“She’s literally been telling Weiss that for years.” Pyrrha said, her head appearing from seemingly nowhere to add that tidbit of information. Blake giggled at Yang who was blushing, smiling and shaking her head. She drained the rest of her beer and handed it to Pyrrha, who disappeared back into the crowd. “She just turns up to embarrass me doesn’t she?” They both laughed again.

“You’re cute when you do that y’know?” Blake said mimicking her and making Yang roll her eyes and snicker. “ _Ha-ha,_ you’re a natural comedian.” With Yang’s hands free now she rested them back on Blake’s waist, who didn’t object at all. “How drunk are you?” Yang asked before gulping. One of Blake’s ears flopped up in intrigue “Drunk enough to be hungover tomorrow but that’s about it, why?” Yang nodded, slowly inching her head down.

“ _Cool_... because I-I wanna ask you something, and I’m not sure if-if it’s too soon or- I just want you to take things at your own pace...” she gulped again and looked away, wiping her face. Blake’s face twisted in concern “Yang, it’s okay, just ask.” The blonde’s eyes landed back on Blake, in that moment she was the only person in the room, the sea of people flooding out around them. “Blake... Blake do-“

“ _Yang!_ ” Weiss’ shrill voice somehow managed to boom over the music. Both of them were pulled out of their moment of bliss looking over at the girl. “ _You’re phones ringing!_ ” She declared before twisting back into the kitchen. Yang sighed and looked back at Blake “I’m sorry it might be my dad- you can come with me if you’d like?”

“No, no it’s fine, don’t worry. Go take your call, I’ll be here.” Blake nodded and shook her head, glancing around to the spot someone they knew in the dim light. “I’ll be right back, I promise.” Yang gently squeezed her hand before taking off through the crowd as fast as she possibly could. Blake ruffled her bangs, her tongue swiping at her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. Her cup had long since been discarded so she didn’t even have anything to drink.

“Did you just get cockblocked by _Weiss Schnee?!_ ” Velvet laughed hysterically, bumping into Blake’s arm as she made her way over. The raven haired girl laughed and ruffled her bangs, removing them from sticking to the sweat on her forehead “I guess so.” She chuckled. The brunette took a drink from her cup and threw her arm over Blake’s shoulder “I’ll keep you company till she gets back, don’t worry.”

_Worry_.

Why had that word suddenly got stuck in her head. Was _she_ worried? No, she wasn’t worried. There was nothing to be worried about. She was vaguely aware of Velvet speaking to someone and laughing to the side of her. But Blake‘s mind was elsewhere, she scanned the room. Why was she worried?

She spotted red hair. Different from Pyrrha’s, a slightly darker complexion of red. Her heart stopped beating. Was he _here_? _How_ was he here? Whoever the red hair belonged to began to walk towards them, until they appeared from the crowd.

“ _Scarlet_! Blake this is Sun’s friend.” Velvet said excitedly, pulling her back to reality, she saw more than just red hair now. “It’s nice to meet you.” Scarlet said, politely offering his hand for her to shake. He seemed nice, his accent was soft and his words kind. Blake shook his hand. “Are you alright?” He asked, raising his eyebrow at her. Blake blinked. Did she look panicked?

“Uh, actually, I don’t feel too good,” she looked at Velvet “you said we were allowed in Coco’s room?” Velvet nodded and looked her up and down. “Yeah, it’s upstairs, second door to the right- do you need me to come?”

“No, _no it’s fine!_ Don’t worry.” She cleared her throat “It was nice to meet you Scarlet.” She said before backing into the crowd, travelling through everyone, slowly picking up the pace. ‘ _How did I get so worked up like that?_ ’ She mentally scolded herself as she climbed the stairs.

She found Coco’s room without trouble, thankful that there was no one in here. The music dissolved to a low rumble as soon as the door closed behind her. Blake flicked her hair out of her face.

She just needed a moment. 

* * *

Yang had been searching through the living room for a few minutes now. No sign of Blake. She was starting to worry. ‘ _I knew I shouldn’t have stayed to take more shots with Ruby!_ ’ She thought. Someone grabbed hold of her arm, spinning her around. She eagerly hoped it was Blake. Instead she was met with Velvet. 

“Blake’s in Coco’s room, I don’t know what happened.”

“Is she okay?” 

“I’m not sure.” Yang stared at her blankly, gaining a groan from the brunette. “Go get her idiot!” 

Yang immediately began to make her way to Coco’s room. Even if she was falling into people on her way there. 

* * *

Blake was sitting on Coco’s bed, checking how she looked in the camera of her phone. Her makeup was surprisingly still alright. But looking down at her white shoes, stained a multitude of colours from the liquids spilled on them. They’d survive, she would just have to clean them. Thoroughly. _Maybe_ buy a new pair. 

The door swung open as Yang stumbled inside, reaching her hand up to grip the top of the door. She gently closed it, stumbling again when she realised her hand was still on top of the door, she gripped onto the top of the frame, leaning against it, trying to look cool.

“ _Hey_.” She grinned. Blake’s cheeks filled with laughter, not being able to contain it at all when it spilled from her lips. “Sorry, I needed to... did your dad call?” Yang shook her head as she walked over to the bed, plopping herself down next to Blake. After however long they’d been here for, the aftershave still clung to Yang, Blake inhaled slightly.

“Are you okay?” The blonde asked, placing her hand on Blake’s knee. The raven haired girl shut her eyes, huffing, she rested herself against Yang’s arm. “I _thought_ I saw Adam, but I was just paranoid, it was a _completely_ different person who happened to hand a similar hair colour.”

“You’re not paranoid-“

“I know you’re being nice and it’s really sweet of you, but _I’am_ paranoid.”

“Okay, fine then, let’s say _you are_ paranoid.” Yang said shifting so that her hand was pressed against the covers, propping her up on one arm. “You have a good reason to be. So don’t feel bad for...” she twisted her hand in the air trying to find the words “ _feeling bad._ ” Blake giggled and swung her legs to the side, bumping them off of Yang’s. “Thank you...” she looked at Yang, who was smiling faintly but had a clear view of emotion behind it “What were you going to ask me?”

Yang’s cheeks lit up red, her words getting caught in her throat. “M-maybe it would be better if we were sober.”

“The room’s spinning for me but I still _know_ what I’m doing. I’ve still got my awareness. Just ask.”

Yang inched a little close, her throat bobbing as she gulped. “ _D-do_... do you...” she threw her head back and laughed “ _Sorry, I’m..._ ” she sat up straight. There was a weird part of Blake that liked when she did that. Liked when their height difference was evident. Blake was only a head shorter, but she liked it for some reason. It meant that if she had to look up at Yang, she blocked out the sun and Yang’s smile shone brighter in its place.

Blake had never felt like this before.

Although that might just be the alcohol talking.

“I like you- a-a lot. And _I’m trying not to fuck this up..._ ” Blake noticed how her hand trembled slightly. Her heart hurt a little at how nervous she seemed to be. Blake brought her hand up to cup Yang’s jaw, moving forward until their noses were touching. Yang stayed still, watching to see Blake’s next move.

“You don’t have to finish, my answer’s yes.” She said, her eyes darting back and forth between Yang’s eyes and her lips. “Are you sure?” Yang said, one arm coming to curl around Blake’s waist, the other brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. Blake nodded. “And before you say it, it’s not just because we’ve been drinking.”

Yang chuckled and hesitated again, looking over Blake’s features.

“Yang?”

“Yeah?”

“ _Kiss me..._ ”

That seemed to be all the confirmation she needed. Yang inched forward, locking their lips together, gently sliding her hand over Blake’s jaw, cupping her cheek. Blake’s hands wandered into Yang’s hair, pulling her closer. She could heart her own heart beating out of her chest; hear Yang’s heart thudding just as loudly. Blake _never_ wanted the moment to end. This was what she had wanted all night. To just be in Yang’s embrace; to _know_ she was safe in that embrace.

The blonde pulled back, just enough that she could speak and rest their foreheads together. “Why didn’t you want to ask- apart from you thinking alcohol is the dealbreaker for asking someone out.” Blake said. Yang chuckled lightly, her thumb running in a circuit among Blake’s cheek. “Because with all your stuff with Adam, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“I appreciate that,” she pressed a chaste kiss to the other girls lips “but I appreciate this too.” The blonde smirked and returned the kiss, two times over. “Me too...”

It was strange, how easy the transition was for them to go from being coy to a full blown make out session. Blake wasn’t complaining though. She enjoyed the affection and the attention, just as happy to reciprocate it. “Don’t feel bad if you want to boss me around,” Yang said in between kisses “even if it’s just so I know your boundaries.” Blake got the nagging feeling that she would be guiding Yang through everything, even if Yang has the more experience out of the two of them.

Blake brought one of her legs up, wrapping it around Yang as she pulled her backwards so both of them were lying on the bed. Yang loomed over her but wasn’t threatening at all. The hand that wasn’t on Blake’s cheek glided down to hold onto her thigh, supporting the leg that had Yang locked in place. Blake didn’t mind. Her stomach had filled with butterflies, that fluttered around endlessly, each kiss lighting off a firework that exploded, releasing a tiny bit of ecstasy each time.

“Is this alright?”

“It’s great- _you’re_ great...”

There was a brief moment where the door creaked open, although both of them were too busy to notice.

“So _this_ is where you two got off to!”

Startled, Blake jumped, accidentally kicking Yang in the stomach, which then caused her to fall sideways off of the bed. Blake threw both of her hands over her mouth. Yang groaned and rolled onto her side, catching a glimpse of who was at the door. “Pyrrha, we were kinda... _y’know_.”

“Yeah well, best to save the bed sheets while I can.”

Blake buried her face in her hands. She wasn’t about to admit that she wanted Pyrrha to leave so they could get back to what they were doing, but she will admit, she was getting _a_ _little_ carried away. She could still smell Yang’s aftershave. The smell caught in her senses and her kisses lingered on her lips. 

“Just know that I warned you because Velvet _will_ slit your throat.” Pyrrha said, a dark smile on her face as she left, closing the door behind her. Blake sat up, leaning down over the bed to grab at Yang’s arm. “Are you alright?” The blonde nodded and stood up, wobbling on her feet.

Blake smiled brightly and propped herself up on her arm, flicking her hair back she looked up at Yang with an arched brow. “Knees weak?” She asked coyly. She had to force herself not to laugh at Yang, who’s mouth slightly agape in shock. “You’re _so_ hot...” Yang murmured, voicing what was running through her head. She then smacked her own forehead and came to sit on the bed again.

“Do I really make you _that_ nervous?”

“ _Y-Yeah I..._ ” she trailed off with a small laugh “I’m just trying not to mess this up.” Blake shook her head and placed a kiss on Yang’s cheek. “You don’t have to be, I’ve _already_ said yes.”

Yang grinned broadly, a sign that she has something up her sleeve. “Oh yeah, what exactly was it that you agreed to?” She said, causing Blake to shake her head and laugh. She couldn’t help the blush that dusted over her cheeks at Yang’s teasing. “Can’t you say it? Just to remind me.” The blonde chuckled. 

Blake stood up, grabbing Yang’s hand in the process and pulling her along. “Come on, I want to go get another drink with my _girlfriend_.”

Yang’s smile lit up the room at hearing that one word. 

* * *

Okay, so maybe Blake wasn’t full of _great_ ideas tonight. She was slowly spiralling down that staircase of alcoholism and threatening to fall down every step, one more drink would tip her over and send her tumbling to the bathroom. She sat on the sofa with her back pressed against Yang, idly snuggling into her shoulder. She couldn’t decide whether she wanted to fall asleep or vomit.

“Is your Mom gonna kill me..?” Yang grumbled, resting her head on top of Blake’s, her hand coming up to play with strands of black hair. Blake chuckled, her head lolling to the side “She’s only met you once, plus she really liked you!” 

“I’m not sure she’ll like me bringing you home like this.” 

“Pfffft, it’ll _b-_ fine.” Blake nuzzled her face into the crook of Yang’s neck. Yang gently shook her head, chuckling to herself when Blake’s ears tickled her chin. The blonde took solace in the fact that she’d get to spend time looking after Blake before being hungover.

Pyrrha’s emerald eyes appeared before Yang, a broad grin spread across her face. “You’re both _very_ cute, but is it, you know-“

“ _Yes!_ ” Blake squealed, excitement clear in her tone as she gripped her hands around Yang’s shoulders, pressing her face further into the blonde’s neck. Pyrrha smirked “This is amazing to watch.” The red head giggled. Yang rolled her eyes “Bet there’s some funny videos from tonight.” 

“Funny videos is one way to put it, Cardin sent Coco a dick pic-“

“Disturbing, don’t want to know, next.” 

“Lena brought cupcakes, that Coco immediately hid so they wouldn’t get demolished.” 

“That’s cute... where’s Ruby?” Yang said, her head swivelling just enough so that she wouldn’t disturb Blake. “She’s dancing with Weiss.” Pyrrha nodded towards where everyone was dancing. Blake’s ear flicked off of Yang’s jaw, pressing a kiss to the underside of her chin, both actions screaming ‘ _pay attention to me.’_

“Should you really be thinking of your sister right now?” Pyrrha teased, sitting down on the table in front of them. Yang rolled her eyes, not able to get annoyed due to the whining faunus who was now mumbling something incoherently. Pyrrha’s usually perfect balance faltered for a moment as she swayed to the side, checking the time on her phone. “I hope Coco wraps it up soon so we can leave.” The redhead sighed “I can’t believe it’s already three in the morning...” 

“ _It’s three in the morning?!_ ” Blake squawked, her head popping up so fast it cast a dizzy spell on her. Pyrrha giggled and nodded “Yeah, pretty insane.” 

“Time flies when you’re having fun!” Sun boomed as he and Neptune walked over, his shirt completely missing and Neptune having a stain on his own shirt that no one wanted to comment on. Neptune pushed Sun, the blonde then collapsing onto the sofa next to Blake, who was forced to sit up straight due to the amount of space he took up. 

The music stopped for a moment and switched to something smoother, older with less techno. Yang immediately recognised the song and her head snapped around to Ruby and Weiss, Weiss blushing furiously and ruby in hysterics. 

‘ _You’re a rich girl, and you’ve gone too far ‘Cause you know it don’t matter anyway’_

Coco stood snickering next to the speaker, where her phone had been plugged in all night. She leaned against the wall, her aviators half fallen off of her face. She was clearly too drunk to care at this point. 

“ _Turn that shit off CC!_ ” 

“ _Hey!_ This is _my_ party, and _I’ll_ play _whatever the fuck I want-_!” 

_’Say money but it won’t get you too far, get you too far.’_

Weiss had her arms loosely hung over Ruby’s shoulders, gently resting their foreheads together and smiling as the room devolved into chaos. Coco was screaming at some guy who’s hair was combed to the side and dressed _exclusively_ in beige. 

“And don’t call me _CC_ , _I’am Coco fucking Adel-_ “ 

Velvet gently kissed her, effectively shutting her up. Coco’s hands clumsily flew to Velvet’s waist, holding her close. Velvet pulled back said something to Coco, that had her letting the boy off with a warning and a glare. 

Yang watched as Blake had somehow managed to walk across the room to toss out her empty cup. In her absence, Blake’s phone began to ring. Her mom was calling. The blonde concluded that it wouldn’t be wise to not answer. So she answered the phone. 

“ _Blake?_ ” 

“It’s Yang, Mrs Belladonna-“

“Oh _Yang_! Where’s Blake?”

“She’s just putting something in the trash, do you need her?”

“No, no, just... would you bring her home when you can?”

“Of course, she should be back soon,” she looked around the significantly less crowded room, spotting Blake who was stumbling back towards her “It’s pretty much done here.” 

“Alright then, thank you and I’ll see you soon.” 

“No problem Mrs Belladonna-“

“ _Kali_!”

“Uh.. Kali.” 

She hung up the phone just as Blake made it to her, hanging over the back of the sofa with a curious look. “Answering my phone?” She laughed. The blonde chuckled and nodded, standing up. “You’re mom called, I’ve to escort you home.” She said with fake pomp. 

Blake nodded and pushed herself off of the sofa and staggered. She blushed and giggled and she couldn’t have been a _cuter drunk_ in Yang’s eyes. The blonde curled her arm around Blake’s waist, holding her close and upright as they walked. 

“C’mon,” Yang sighed contently as Blake leaned against her “Let’s get you home.” 

* * *

The walk back to Blake’s house was not as peaceful as intended. It was supposed to be a _nice walk_ on a chilly night, with _cute moments_ and _drunken comments_ that they’d later either forget or look back on and laugh. 

Instead Yang discovered that as soon as the air hits Blake, she somehow becomes more inebriated than what she already had been, devolving into being unable to walk on her own. They had stopped off at a store on their walk, Yang buying whatever Blake pointed to and stuffing it in her rucksack.

So now, here they were, outside Blake’s house. With Yang carrying Blake by her thighs, Blake’s arms wrapped around Yang’s neck and head tucked into the crook of her neck, and a rucksack haphazardly thrown over Yang’s shoulder.

The blonde mentally prepared herself with a deep breath, taking strides towards the front door. Maybe she’d get lucky and would avoid the ‘ _what the hell happened to my daughter_ ’ talk. “The door should be unlocked.” Blake said, weakly reaching out her hand to grab the door handle, lightly pushing the door open.

Yang walked inside, trying her best to stay quiet-

“ _Blake?_ ”

‘ _Shit._ ’

Kali’s head peeled out from the kitchen, her eyes widening and jaw dropping in shock. So clearly, this wasn’t what she wanted to see. Yang smiled weakly, Blake sitting up just enough to rest her head on top of Yang’s. “ _Mom!_ ” Blake said with an odd excitement.

“How drunk are you?” Kali said calmly as she walked towards them. It was her calmness that terrified Yang to the core. “It’s fine, Yang’s got me, isn’t she the best?!” Blake gushed, pulling Yang’s head further into her. Kali walked past them and closed the door.

“You’re wasted, you’re lucky your fathers in bed.” She sighed, walking around them so she could glare at Blake. Her ears were pinned back to emphasise her anger, an endearing trait of the Belladonna’s that Yang was growing fond of. “ _I’m so sorry..._ ” Yang said, wincing at herself “I’ll take her upstairs then I’ll get going.”

Kali shook her head “Don’t be silly, it’s far too late for you to be walking home alone. You can stay here.” She smiled and began to walk up the stairs, Yang following behind her. “Are you sure?” Kali hummed in response and opened Blake’s bedroom door for her.

Yang carefully placed Blake down on the bed, whilst the girl gripped at the labels of her jacket, trying to pull her down with her. Yang chuckled nervously and placed her bag down on the floor. Blake pouted when she realised her plan of trying to pull Yang down with her was foiled by Yang being that tad bit stronger (what with all her abs and biceps).

“You’ve gotta get changed Blakey.”

“Can you get them for me?”

Yang nodded and Blake allowed her to pull back, her eyes scanning the room for anything that looked pyjama-like. She only had the light from the street lamps that poured in through the window to guide her, so she scratched the back of her neck, grinning sheepishly as she looked back at Blake. The raven haired girl laughed “Second drawer.” She pointed lazily.

Yang pulled open the drawer, walking over and handing a t-shirt and shorts to Blake. The girl tried to grab her wrist, which Yang immediately snatched back, upturning the pyjamas away from the girl, grinning. “Get changed.”

“What about my makeup?”

“I’ll take your makeup off for you if you get changed.”

Blake grumbled and sat up, taking the pyjamas from Yang’s hand, she began to shake off her jacket. The blonde walked towards the door, smiling at Kali who was standing in the doorway. They both walked out of the room, Yang quietly shutting the door behind her.

“I think I have some shorts I could give you to go to sleep in, I’m not sure any of Blake’s clothes would fit you.” Kali chuckled, folding her arms across her chest. Yang chuckled back and nodded “Thank you for letting me stay tonight.” The faunus woman shook her head. “It’s not a problem dear, you’re welcome here.”

There was an awkward pause between words, as they both looked at each other.

“Are you and Blake...?”

“Uh... yeah... _yes_! _Uh_ -“ Yang stopped herself and pinched the bridge of her nose, Kali laughed. “I asked earlier and she said yes, but I’ll ask again when she’s sober.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because... _I don’t know_. There’s just a part of me that wanted it to be special-“ Yang then realised she was talking to Blake’s _mother_ “S-sorry this must be weird- me talking to you about this.” Kali laughed lightly. “Not at all, it’s very cute actually...” they both smiled, Yang nervously looking down at her feet.

“ _Yaaaaaaang_!”

They both laughed at the way Blake’s voice drawled her name.

“She’ll be one second, I’m getting clothes for her to wear to bed.” Kali yelled through the door. She gestured for Yang to follow her down the hallway, into a spare room that was essentially just a walk in wardrobe. She pulled a pair of shorts and a huge t-shirt from one of the shelves, handing them to Yang. “You can get dressed in the bathroom, it’s just across the hall from Blake’s bedroom.” Yang nodded.

Kali gently placed her hand on Yang’s shoulder “For what it’s worth, I like you, and I think Blake really does as well, judging by the marks on your neck.” Yang choked and went red, her hands shooting up to her neck, fingers finding sensitive skin before pressing into it just to be sure. Kali laughed and her hand trailed down to her upper arm as she gently pushed Yang “Now go get changed- oh my god.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Blake never mentioned the biceps you had on you, I’ll need to remember that come breakfast- okay, now _really_ go get ready for bed.”

Yang laughed and thanked her again, trudging along the hallway to the bathroom. She shed her clothes, changing into the ones Kali had given to her. She was in the middle of folding her own clothes up when she went back into the bedroom. She looked up and saw Blake tossing her bra to the side, out from under her t-shirt. Yang’s face lit up red, she felt like she wasn’t supposed to see that. 

“It’s a bra, you wear one too.” Blake giggled, reaching down the side of the bed for Yang’s backpack, she pulled out a bottle of soda. “Yeah but... _y’know_.” She said bashfully, placing her pile of clothes down on top of Blake’s desk. Yang picked up the packet of facial wipes that sat down on the desk, walking over to the bed. 

The bed creaked when Yang sat down, Blake inching forward so that Yang could get to work removing her makeup. As she used wipe after wipe to take off the makeup, she realised how strange it was to see her without makeup on. But a good kind of strange. It felt... _intimate_ in a way. At least as intimate (without being weird) as touching someone else’s eyelashes could get. 

Blake collected the dirty wipes in her hand, tossing them onto the table beside her bed. Blake lay down, her hair splaying over the pillow, she tilted her head towards Yang. “Are you _finally_ going to lie down?” The blonde shrugged and flopped down so that she was laying next to Blake. 

“Gonna be kinda awkward, meeting your dad for the first time after I’ve slept in his house.” 

“It could be worse.” 

“How?”

“You could tell him you fucked his daughter in his house, that would be worse.” 

“It wouldn’t be true either.” Yang smirked, her cheek pressed up against the pillow. Blake smirked back “You saying you wouldn’t?” There was a strange tension in the air that they could both feel “Not tonight...” 

Blake could see Yang’s face tense, an expression she couldn’t quite read settle on her. “What is it?” She bit her lip, still trying to discern what she could be thinking about. “I just... I meant what I said earlier, about not wanting to mess anything up with us, I just want everything to be _special_ for you...” 

Blake felt her smile from ear to ear, shaking her hear as she inched forward, placing a chaste kiss against her lips. “You’re such a dork.” Another kiss “But I like how sweet you are.” She rested their foreheads together, their noses brushing. Lilac met gold in the most intimate way.

“You’re mom’s really nice,” the blonde smirked cockily, creasing the skin around her eyes “she said she likes me.” Blake chuckled “Then all we need is my dad on board, but that shouldn’t be hard.” They both laughed lightly.

There was a question on the tip of Blake’s tongue, something that she was dying to ask. But she didn’t know if she could. “You always talk about your dad but what about...”

“My mom?” Yang said, her voice dangerously low. Blake nodded “ _Sorry_ was that-“

“No, don’t worry. The truth is I’ve never met my mom...”

“Yang...” Blake cupped her cheek, running her thumb in circles around the soft flesh. “Me and Ruby had different mothers. Ruby’s mom died when we were really young, but I think Ruby was _too_ young to know what was really going on.”

Blake leaned forward, kissing Yang slowly, the kiss burned both of them, sucking all air from their lungs, the only sound in the room was the soft smacking of their lips. Blake pulled back, scooting down the bed a little so she could tuck her head under Yang’s chin, her arm hanging over Yang’s waist. The blonde circled Blake’s waist with her arms, her hands sliding up her back then back down as she lightly dragged her nails up and down the faunus’ back.

“Thanks by the way.” The blonde murmured. Blake’s eyebrow shot up, she didn’t quite know what she was talking about. “For what?” 

“For caring.” 

“Doesn’t caring about you not come in the ‘girlfriend’ package?” Blake teased, lightly tracing her index finger over the marks she’d left on Yang’s neck and under her chin. Yang hummed and sank down in the bed till she was meeting Blake’s eyes again. “You just reminded me...” Yang said, Blake not having time to process that she’d said anything at all when Yang’s lips were upon her own.

She threw her leg over Yang’s hip, using that and the hand that was now tangling itself in a blonde mane of hair to pull her closer. Yang’s lips began to trail down from her mouth to her neck, leaving a trial of burning kisses in her wake. She began lightly biting and sucking at the sensitive skin on Blake’s neck, however what Yang didn’t expect was for her to actually _purr_. She decided to keep on nipping at her neck, making sure she was going to be leaving a few hickeys left on Blake.

Blake continued to purr when Yang pulled back to revel in her handiwork. She grinned when Blake looked up at her with an annoyed pout. “Y’know those sounds were _purr-fect._ ” Blake rolled her eyes and pushed her face away, laughing. “I’m going to need to make sure my parents don’t see these.”

“Yeah, because that would be a _cat-astrophe._ ”

“ _Quit it!_ ”

They both laughed at themselves, now shifting around so they could settle themselves under the covers. Yang lay on her back, one hand under her head, the other lying flat against the empty pillows where Blake would be lying. The faunus rested her head on Yang’s chest, one hand tucked under her cheek whilst the other arm was thrown over Yang’s abdomen. The blonde’s arm came up to wrap her around Blake and rest her hand on her shoulder.

They inevitably fell asleep in each other’s arms. With Kali peeking in during the night to see what they’d got up to, smiling at the peaceful looks on their faces. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I’m almost at 100 kudos, thank you so much! Also I read everyone’s comments even if I don’t interact and they all mean so much to me. 
> 
> For the person who bet that Taiyang was injured, something did happen with him but... I’ll just leave it at that.


	8. Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang goes home after staying at Blake’s for the night, only to find out something that she doesn’t quite know how to feel about. 
> 
> The question is how will she deal with that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s self indulgent, it’s cute, it’s partly a Yang chapter!

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ...”

Blake was holding her head when she woke up, she didn’t know whether to clamp her hands over her eyes or cat ears. Her ears were ringing, her eyes burned from the light and her head was pounding. To top it all off Yang was lying next to her, arm wrapped around Blake’s abdomen, happily snoring away and radiating so much heat she could burn Blake.

When Yang shifted in her sleep, cuddling in to Blake as she let out another snore, it was the last straw for her sensitive little ears. Blake twisted in Yang’s arms to face the blonde. She felt terrible for being mad at her for just sleeping but... she was severely hungover and couldn’t deal with this for much longer.

“Yang?” Blake pressed on her chest, shaking her, Yang stirred and grunted a response “Yang, wake up.” The blonde’s eyes fluttered open, still half closed from just being woken up. She grunted again and nodded at Blake. “Mornin’, why’ve I to wake up?”

“You were snoring.” Blake said, trying to mask the hint of annoyance in her tone but it wasn’t entirely lost on Yang. She could see it in the way she narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, that happens after I’ve been drinking.” Blake placed her hand under her cheek, smiling softly. “It’s fine, it’s just because my hearing’s sensitive...” Yang nodded and slowly brought a hand up to rub one of her ears soothingly.

“What time’s it?” Yang asked, her hand tracing down to Blake’s hip where her thumb gently squeezed and drew circles. Blake begrudgingly leaned over Yang, who rolled onto her back to allow Blake to pass by. The blonde lifted her hand up to move some hair out of Blake’s eyes as she grabbed her phone. “It’s only eight in the morning...”

Blake huffed and placed her phone back down. She slowly slid into Yang’s lap, leaning forward and resting herself on top of the blonde. She kissed her way up, from Yang’s collar to her lips. She smiled against her lips “You _wreak_ of beer.” They both laughed. “And you smell like pure, unadulterated, alcohol.”

“ _Oooooh_ , look at you with the fancy words.”

“It’s all the reading I’ve been doing.” They laughed again, falling back into the comfortable rhythm of exchanging kisses and fleeting touches.

It was like Blake had woken up on a different planet, what with her hangover and girlfriend-

_Girlfriend_.

Now that really did feel like she was on a different planet. How life had turned around for her so much that she discovered she wasn’t straight. And her mom hadn’t so much as batted an eyelid at that fact (to be fair neither had Blake). Just accepted that there was this nice girl who looked after her daughter and kept her happy that had waltzed onto the scene.

Blake sat up, straddling Yang’s waist, she rested a hand on Yang’s abdomen, her hands absently searching to feel the skin underneath. Yang giggled and settled her hand’s on Blake’s waist, she was all smiles and charm, looking up at Blake with her tousled hair. “You’re mom said something about my biceps and ‘remembering that for breakfast’ last night.” 

“Yeah, my dad works out a lot so my mom makes really protein heavy breakfasts, so you might get the biggest breakfast you’ve ever seen.” Yang laughed, dragging her hands up along Blake’s sides. “The hangover cure then?” They both laughed again.

The door creaked open, Blake swiftly removing herself from Yang, hiding herself in the covers in preparation for whoever was about to walk in. One of Kali’s ears twitched up along with her eyebrow as she peered into the room. She opened the door fully, taking a step inside. Yang sat up on her elbows.

“I thought I heard you two, how’re you up so early?” Kali asked, leaning on the door knob. Blake shrugged “I just woke up.” Yang grinned and shrugged as well “And she woke me up.”

“Typical Blake, when your up and at it, _everyone else_ has to be as well.”

“Why’re you up mom?” Blake asked, nodding at Kali and eyeing her with suspicion. “Your father was going to make breakfast soon so I just came to see if you were awake.” Kali pointed at Yang. “You’ve escaped my breakfast ideas, for now...”

Blake raised an eyebrow at Kali as she stood up off of the bed, walking towards the door. “Does that mean you’re about to force her round for breakfast more often.” Kali shook her head. “It means I get the feeling _you’ll_ be forcing her round for breakfast, that’s all.” Blake rolled her eyes and gently began to usher her mom out of the room, with the closing of her door.

Kali rolled her eyes and laughed “Okay, I’m going, be down soon- What is it?” Blake’s eyes widened at the smell of food. The fresh smell of bacon and sausage hitting her like a truck. She threw the door open and ran to the bathroom, the sounds of vomiting emitting from it as soon as she got in there. Yang jumped up on unsteady legs, jogging to the door “I’ve got her, Mrs- Kali.”

Yang kneeled down next to Blake in the bathroom, collecting her hair in one hand as the other gently rubbed her back. Kali lingered in the doorway. Blake spat into the toilet bowl “That was disgusting...”

“You shouldn’t have drank so much!”

“Mom, _please_... my head is _killing_ me.” Blake whined, her head resting on the cool ceramic of the toilet bowl, closing her eyes and willing the throbbing of her headache to go away. Kali groaned and slapped her hand onto the doorframe. “Well I’m going to get some aspirin for you then, Yang do you need anything?” Yang shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks though.”

“Make sure you bring her down soon.” With that, Kali was gone, the soft pitter patter of her feet could be heard as she went downstairs. Yang sighed and continued to rub tender circles on Blake’s back, making sure she was alright. Blake sat up slowly, urging Yang to let go of her hair. She leaned into the blonde, resting her head back against her shoulder. “Don’t lean on me, I’am _repulsed_ by you!” Yang said mockingly. Blake laughed as she stood, leaning on the sink.

“I’ll go get dressed.”

“Are you leaving?” There was a twinge of disappointment that shot through Blake. She didn’t want her to leave, not yet anyway. They’d barely just woke up. “No, I just... it’s a table manners thing in my house.” She scratched the back of her head nervously. Blake laughed and continued to lean on the sink, tilting her head towards Yang and trying to mimic that charming smile the blonde always flashed her.

“You didn’t score yesterday so you’re trying to get out of here fast?” Blake smirked, but was met with a confused Yang, her head tilted to the side. “I scored a few times, you were there.” Blake blinked. What did she mean a few times? What had-

“Yang I’m not talking about football- _ugh never mind._ ” Yang left the room laughing, Blake deduced that Yang did that on purpose knowing it would irritate Blake. She couldn’t say she disliked it. Any attention from Yang was good enough for her, but she seemed to have her attention all the time. Plus she liked the back and forth teasing. Blake brushed her teeth, lazily wiping her face with a towel soaked with warm water. She swore there was a vein on her face threatening to burst from her headache.

She went back into the bedroom, where Yang was already dressed, just finishing putting on her t-shirt as Blake walked in, she caught a glimpse of Yang’s set of abs. She had never been into stuff like that but... they _were_ nice. Yang had barely registered that Blake had entered the room, too preoccupied with her phone. The raven haired girl walked over, gently touching her arm. “Everything alright?” It didn’t seem like it judging by the scowl on Yang’s face.

“Yeah...” she continued looking at her phone before shaking her head, tossing it onto the bed “Sorry just... family stuff. I’ll probably have to go after breakfast.” Blake pouted causing Yang to laugh slightly. The raven haired girl decided that she shouldn’t be selfish, sure she wished Yang could stay for longer but if there was something going on then she understood.

“If you want to talk about it... you can.” Blake smiled, gently taking Yang’s hand in her own. The blonde smiled back, toothy and adorable. “Appreciated, but I don’t want to bother you.” Yang lifted her hand up and gently kissed her knuckles, still wearing that stupid smile that was instantly on Blake’s list of top ten favourite things. “But I want you to bother me-“

“ **GHIRA THAT’S _NOT_ HOW YOU COOK THAT!**”

Yang raised her eyebrow at Blake “Does your dad cook often?” She laughed and shook her head. “He never cooks.” Blake spun on her heel and walked towards her wardrobe, pulling out a hoodie that would make her look a little more decent for breakfast. She watched as Yang slipped into the bathroom, coming back a few minutes later.

One of Blake’s ears flicked upwards “Did you just brush your teeth?”

“Yeah why?”

“What’d you brush them with?”

“My finger.” Blake blinked a few times. She could’ve just used Blake’s toothbrush or even better, Blake would’ve given her another toothbrush. Yang leaned back against the doorframe, folding her arms across her chest. “Shouldn’t I be taking you downstairs?” Blake nodded and walked out of the bedroom, Yang trailing behind her as they went downstairs.

Blake could sense the nervousness that came from Yang when they entered the kitchen. But Blake assumed that was because she saw the sheer size of her father. No matter how buff Yang was, it would only take Ghira one punch. She was also going to assume Yang wasn’t going to fight her father. Kali’s ears twitched upwards, and spun around to greet them.

“Do you need any help?” Yang asked, a strategy to get in the good books right off of the bat. A wise decision. But her father wasn’t that scary. “Nonsense, go sit down, I’ve got this covered.” Ghira said, dismissing Yang with a wave as he continued to cook. The blonde did as she was told, sitting down in the seat next to Blake. Which was a blessing really, it meant they could talk without her parents listening in.

“What do you do at school Yang?” Ghira asked, making idle chitchat as he flipped something on the frying pan. “I’m the captain of the football team, then I’ve got a ton of classes with Blake.” She gulped, hoping that answer was satisfactory. Ghira nodded, seemingly impressed. Blake wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t like Yang but _oh thank god_.

“Blake mentioned going to a match yesterday, were you playing?”

“Yeah, we won. I got the final touchdown.” Blake knew that Yang was only filling him in on what happened but, it sounded like she was bragging. Her and her mother looked at each other and laughed. Ghira turned around, sliding plates onto the table. “How was the party last night?” He asked, sitting down at the table.

“It was...” Blake could barely remember anything past the start of the night “Good.” She looked at Yang with a pained smile. Blake had two options, she could pretend that she remembered everything clear as day and lie or she could hope that Yang would fill in the blanks for her. “Our friend Coco is super into old music, so at every party when she gets really drunk she puts it on and everyone yells at her.” Yang smirked and traced a circle on the table with her finger “Although it’s a little different when it’s in her house.”

Ghira chuckled softly, standing up and going back to the frying pan, scooping out bacon and sausages with his spatula. The smell before was enough to make her gag, but the look of them... she shivered.

So here was her second thing she had to get through at breakfast: _trying not to spew_.

She could see her mom in the corner of her eye, watching her. She was going to get an earful when Yang left wasn’t she?

She looked over at Yang, trying to somehow convey that she was physically unable to speak right now without wanting to collapse. Yang somehow understood and cleared her throat. “Uh, thanks again for letting me stay last night.”

“Of course, I couldn’t have let you walk home alone now could I?” Kali said, scurrying around the kitchen fixing breakfast onto plates and pouring tea into cups. She sat a cup down in front of Blake, smiling cockily. “Blake used to beg me so much as a child for tea. She ended up trying it on her own... although that wasn’t a great experience was it?”

Blake rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards Yang “The first time I tried tea I burned my tongue, it ended up all swollen.” Yang cocked an eyebrow and laughed. Blake could tell from the look on Yang’s face that she was about to inquire more about Blake’s past.

“I can imagine a tiny Blake, holding a book that’s way too big for her.” Kali laughed and Blake rolled her eyes fondly. Ghira began setting plates full of food down on the table. The food looked so greasy, and smelled great and... Blake hid her face behind her hands as she silently gagged.

“How’d you get into football?” Ghira asked, looking up at Yang whilst he began to cut something on his plate. “My family’s full of athletes, like my dad, he used to play football too. I grew up with it and I just... kept going with it I guess.” There was a sadness behind Yang’s smile that Blake couldn’t quite place. She wanted to know why that sadness was there to begin with. But that was a conversation for another time.

“You should be proud, I’m sure your dad is.” Yang nodded at Ghira as she ate as carefully as she could. Blake had eaten with Yang enough to know she was purposely eating slowly, pushing through each bite. She didn’t know why she was doing that, but she guessed that she was just too hungover to eat too. “He is, it means I can get into college on a scholarship. Plus I get to hang my jacket on the wall of fame, _right next_ to my dads.” They all chuckled lightly.

“For now your jacket seems to be hanging on my daughters bedpost quite a lot.” Ghira’s eyes flitted up to Yang, who froze, a light blush dusting across her cheeks. Kali swallowed what she was chewing and laughed airily. Blake felt her face heat up to no end, hiding it within her hands. This was the most embarrassing morning Blake had ever had in her life.

“I like wearing it.”

‘ _I need to go back to bed immediately._ ’ Blake thought.

Yang tried and failed to hide the smile that crept onto her face at Blake admitting she liked wearing her jacket. It was stupid really. It was just a jacket. They all went back to eating in a comfortable silence. Blake played with the food on her plate, making it seem like she was eating when in reality she couldn’t.

“I used to play football in high school, I never took it any further than that though.” Ghira said, picking up his plate and placing it in the sink. “I ended up starting the White Fang instead. You’ve probably heard of it haven’t you?”

Yang nodded, still chewing whilst she thought up a reply. “Yeah, it’s one of the larger faunus rights movements. Although I don’t agree with the new leaders more... _radical_ way of dealing with things.” Blake narrowed her eyes at Yang. Had she researched the White Fang? It seemed like it. Also since when did she talk like this?

“Me and you both...” Ghira mumbled as he walked towards the door. He placed a hand on Yang’s shoulder “It was nice meeting you Yang.”

“Uh, you too Mr Belladonna!” Yang tried to say as enthusiastically as she could despite her nervousness. Ghira nodded at her before looking at Kali and Blake. “I’ll be in my office.” They both nodded back at him. Kali stood, taking her and Yang’s empty plates in hand. The blonde stood to take them off of her hands “I can get those-“

“Don’t worry, it’s just plates. Thank you though.” Kali laughed. Yang sat back down, smiling sheepishly at Blake as she rubbed the back of her neck. A buzz from Yang’s pocket brought them back to reality. A reality that existed outside of the blissful breakfast chat. Yang pulled her phone out of her pocket and sighed.

“I’ve gotta go, my dad’s asking for me to come home.” She pouted at Blake. The two girls stood up, Blake leading them to the doorway. The blonde stopped as she walked behind Blake. “Thanks for having me M- Kali!” Kali twisted around, one of her ears peeking up. “It was great having you, you’re welcome anytime.”

“Thank you...”

Blake led her upstairs, Yang shrugging on her jacket and picking up her bag. It hit Blake that Yang was leaving when they were walking back downstairs to the door. Which was... _sad_. Why was she so clingy? _Jeez_...

Yang leaned against the doorway when Blake opened the front door. She still towered over Blake, despite her wearing the flattest of sneakers. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Blake asked, leaning against the doorframe with Yang. The blonde nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. “Yeah... I’m fine.” She looked back towards the empty street and they both remembered they didn’t have Yang’s bike.

“Guess you’re gonna have to walk to Coco’s.” Blake chuckled, attempting to make any small talk that would keep Yang here longer. “I’ll have to grab my bike and go, I don’t wanna know what her and Velvet got up to.” They both cringed and laughed. Lilac eyes trailed over her, the hint of hesitation in the way her mouth slightly hung up. Blake decided that they couldn’t stay standing her like this any longer.

“Call me later?” She asked, tempted to continue laughing at the confused look on Yang’s face. “Uh... sure- no- yes, _yes_!” Now Blake was actually laughing again at how flustered the other girl was. Blake giggled, skin wrinkling under her eyes in the most adorable laugh and Yang’s heart melted. The blonde bit her lip and closed her eyes, opening them again and releasing her lip from between her teeth, giving way to a charming smile.

“I’ll call you...” Blake arched her brow, expecting her to continue talking. “ _And_ I’ll keep you posted on the family drama.”

Yang put her hand on Blake’s jaw, tilting her head up towards her. She placed a gentle kiss on Blake’s lips, Blake’s hands shooting up to Yang’s cheeks, keeping her in place whilst she kissed her further. The blonde reluctantly tried to pull back, failing miserably when Blake refused to let go of her face. “I’ve actually got to go y’know.” Yang huffed out a laugh between the kisses Blake was generously giving her. The raven haired girl sighed and rested their noses together.

She allowed Yang to take hold of her hands, prying them off of her face, but not letting them go as she backed out of the doorway. “Promise I’ll call you.” She said, finally letting go of Blake’s hands. Yang chanced one last glance back at Blake as she walked down the street. She laughed and winked at her.

“You’re _very_ clingy.”

Blake spun around, closing the door behind her. Her face went scarlet.

“Were you watching?!”

“You were standing at the front door, it wasn’t exactly private-“

“But you’re not _supposed_ to watch!”

“Oh come on dear! It’s cute-“

“ _Mom!_ ”

Kali continued laughing as she walked back into the kitchen, the clanging of plates indicating that she was washing the dishes. “And don’t think I didn’t notice how you didn’t eat breakfast!” Blake winced and hurried into the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter. There was silence between them as her mother washed the dishes. Blake was content to stay and let her speak her mind.

“She’s kindhearted...” Kali sighed “Clearly likes you a lot... she’s not an Adam, that’s for sure.” 

“ _Definitely_ not him.”

“You’re grounded by the way-“

“Mom, I’m seventeen-“

“And I’m forty-two, what difference does that make? Oh and that hoodie isn’t covering what you think it is.”

Blake groaned and accepted her fate, returning to her room. She pulled up her hood and tugged on the drawstrings until it hid her face as she flopped down on the bed.

Grounded... great.

* * *

So maybe Yang was more hungover than she was prepared to admit, but that was fine, she got her bike, she was home. 

What could go wrong?

A lot apparently. Her father and her uncle sat in the living room. It was almost like she was about to come out to her family again, minus the younger sister. Yang stepped into the living room, dropping her bag onto the floor. She looked between both of them. Qrow booted her fathers leg “Tai’, she’s here.” Tai threw the newspaper down, a smile growing on his face. 

“Sorry I missed your game yesterday-“

“Don’t worry, Qrow was there...” it’s not like she didn’t care that he wasn’t there, it was more like she knew she couldn’t. “You don’t want the explanation for why I wasn’t there?”

“I feel like you’re gonna give me one anyway.” She laughed, sitting down on the sofa next to Qrow. Taiyang leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. A stance that was restricted for serious talks. “Is this because I didn’t come home last night?” Yang asked, completely bemused by the situation. 

“No Ruby told me- actually where did you go?” Tai smirked, looking her up and down. Qrow poked at one of the bruised on her neck “Looks like you had fun wherever you went.” Yang laughed and batted his hand away, rolling her eyes. “Bet it was that faunus girl- what’s her name again?... Ghira’s daughter.” 

“Blake-“

“ _Blake_!” Qrow snapped his fingers “You and your daughter have the same taste in women-“

“Gross, shut up.” Yang pushed him away from her, Qrow laughing loudly as she did so. Tai laughed along with him, slapping his knee. “Ghira Belladonna? You’re dating his daughter?” Her father looked unbelievably surprised. For what reason she didn’t know but at least it was a pleasant surprise. “Yeah.. yeah I am.” She cleared her throat “I stayed at Blake’s place last night.”

Tai and Qrow let out a laugh “What’d Ghira have to say about that?” 

“Nothing really, he just made us breakfast and asked how I got into football.”

“He had nothing to say about how his daughter went all vampire on you?” Qrow gently shook her by the neck, him and Taiyang bellowing out another laugh. Now Yang was embarrassed. Not because of her family, they she could handle. But she and Blake had _totally_ been caught. “Anyways...” Tai let out a long sigh, his face dropping. 

“Something going on dad?” 

“Yeah but... don’t get angry at _me_ okay?” 

“Yeah... yeah.” She shook her head. Just what was going on? The only time she’d ever been sat down for a serious talk was... well serious situations. But all of them she was aware of beforehand. It wasn’t a secret. This was different. “I met up with your mom yesterday, she gave me her number if you wanted to meet up with her.” 

Yang blinked. She couldn’t help it. Pure rage boiled in the pit of her stomach. 

“So she decided seventeen years later ‘oh the hard part’s over, wanna have a mom now?’” 

“ _Yang_!”

“You agree though don’t you?! This woman has the fucking audacity-“

“Watch your language!”

“The audacity to want to know me now, after abandoning me! After she decided she didn’t want me!-“ 

Qrow grabbed her shoulder, pulling her down from whatever high she’d been on. She bit her bottom lip, hard, drawing blood. The taste of metal prominent in her mouth. Yang had to close her eyes. Had to stop her temper from flaring like that. She promised she wouldn’t do that, it was a promise she intended to keep as best as she could. 

“You don’t need to speak to her Yang.” Tai said calmly, reaching his hand out in the air. Yang knew that she didn’t have to. She was angry because she _wanted_ to. She had searched for her before, random questions to Qrow, going to places she used to work. It baffled her how _one_ woman could do this to their daughter. Their own flesh and blood. So she did want to speak to her. Yang just wanted to understand.

She sighed and turned her head away so she wasn’t facing her father or her uncle. “Tell her I’ll meet up with her soon...” she could feel the pained stares on her. They were likely looking at each other, baffled at what they were hearing. “Want one of us to go with you?” Qrow said, his grip tightening on her shoulder. She shook her head and turned back to face them.

“I can handle it.” Tai narrowed his eyes at her. “ _What_?”

“Nothing-“

“You don’t believe I’ll be fine do you?” She growled, twisting to look at her father, narrowing her eyes back at him. “Of course I believe you, it’s just... you’re mother can be a lot to handle at times.” Tai shook his head, laughing bitterly to himself. “Alright, I’ll _believe_ that you’ll be fine.” The silence that came after his statement was deafening. Yang hated that he didn’t believe she’d be alright by herself. She had done everything by herself. This would be no different. ‘ _Way to ruin a good mood..._ ’ she thought.

“So... when are we meeting Blake?” Tai asked, followed by her phone buzzing twice, which must’ve been the girl in question checking in with her. And Yang’s mood was instantly better. Strange how that happened. “Speak for yourself, _I’ve_ already met her.” Qrow presses his thumb to his chest, grinning proudly.

“ _Oooo_ , you should invite her for dinner one night, we’re gonna have a big dinner anyway seeing as Qrow’s back.” Yang smiled and nodded at him, pulling out her phone. “Yeah, I’ll ask.”

She was vaguely aware of all of the things her dad was listing that he could embarrass her about. But she wasn’t really listening. She had two texts on her phone, and had to laugh at how she didn’t expect either. 

> **Blake:** got grounded for the first time since i was a kid never drinking again :))))))
> 
> **Blake:** also you must be wearing my socks coz these are far too big for me  
>    
> 

She did wonder why her socks felt so tight... 

> **Yang:** whoops i’ll wash them for u 
> 
> **Yang:** also my dad wants to know if u wanna come for dinner 1 night 
> 
> **Blake:** yeah definitely. just wait until i’m not grounded
> 
> **Yang:** okay :(((((( 

“So what’d she say?” Qrow asked, trying to peek over Yang’s shoulder. Yang quickly locked her phone causing Qrow to pout at her. She laughed at how childish he was. “She said yes but when she’s not grounded.” 

“So Ghira _did_ have something to say about you staying over!”

* * *

Yang had decided to go and shower before she sat in the living room with her family, Qrow was supposed to be the one that wreaked of booze not her. She had been watching the highlights of a recent football match with them, when it occurred to her: 

“You two make me feel old.”

“ _How?!_ ”

“I’m sitting here watching match highlights like you two geezers!” Taiyang picked up his newspaper, tossing it at her. Qrow leaned through into the living room through the small window that connected to the kitchen, his two arms leaning on the shelf, holding a silver flask in one hand. “It could be worse, you could actually _be_ old.” Yang laughed, and looked up at Qrow. “What’s your idea of old?” 

“Old enough to _legally_ be able to drink _this_.”

“Sorry but you’re _wayyyyyy_ older than eighteen.” They both laughed, Qrow coming through from the kitchen so he could sit beside Yang. Tai nodded at her “When’s Ruby getting back?” Yang shrugged.

“She’s at Weiss’ place.”

Taiyang blinked at her. Yang blinked back at him.

“Am I supposed to know what that means-”

“Ugh, I keep forgetting you weren’t there. Ruby and Weiss are dating now.”

“So both of you left the house yesterday and came back with a girlfriend each?”

“What do you mean _each_? Do you think we’re gonna share a girlfriend?”

“No it’s just- _you know what I mean!_ ”

Qrow bellowed out a laugh and sat back, tossing his arm over the back of the sofa. “Yet another thing I knew and you didn’t. Keep up Tai.” The blonde man huffed and sat back in his chair, turning his attention back to the TV, an angry scowl painted on his face. “Dad, don’t be like that, here I’ll even show you the video.” She pulled out her phone again, skimming through all the photos and videos from the night before till she got to the one of Weiss, sprinting across the field towards Ruby. 

She stood up, shuffling over to her fathers chair, sitting on the arm and sitting the phone in front of his face. “What is this?” Tai said sternly, continuing to watch the video anyway. “Ruby’s race with an added bonus.” They both watched the video, laughing at how Weiss hopped over the barrier and sprinted onto the field. It was like something out of a romcom.

“Was the added bonus listening to you flirt in the background for three seconds?”

“No, it was getting to see Weiss jump over that barrier- that has literally made my life. I will never forget it.” They both laughed, Tai nodding in agreement with her. He nodded over at Qrow, who raised his eyebrow at him in return. “When did you meet up with them?”

“They were at a diner, I tracked Ruby’s phone so I could find them.” He smirked cockily “As soon as I walked in I clocked Yang with her little girlfriend tucked under her arm.”

“She’s always had a fantasy about that- what’s Blake like?” Tai asked, quickly changing the subject away from Yang’s romantic fantasies. “Head over heels for our girl, you really know how to pick ‘em firecracker.”

“You guys are embarrassing...” she rolled her eyes, tucking her phone into her jacket pocket. She began walking out of the living room. Almost as if on time, Yang’s phone began to ring in her pocket. She sighed happily, knowing Blake was calling. She felt like she could suddenly breathe again. Why was that? She cleared her throat before answering.

“Hey Blakey.” She said, skipping up the stairs.

“ _Heyyyy Blakeyyyy~_ ” Tai yelled, Yang flipped him off.

Yang ran off to her room. 

* * *

“Who was that?” Blake asked. 

“My dad being a dick.” 

Blake nodded to herself. She was currently lying down on her back, facing the ceiling. There was only so much reading you could do in one day. Which was why Blake hated that she was grounded. Usually by now on the weekend she’d either be somewhere with Yang or out by herself at a bookstore- she’s a nerd, she’s aware of that. 

“I’m so bored.” Blake whined, throwing her head back against her pillow. She was lying on the side that Yang had slept on, which she hoped wasn’t as creepy as it sounded. “I’d rather be bored than spend the last few hours watching football highlights with my dad and my uncle- seriously what age am I?!” Blake giggled.

“What’s so bad about that?”

She heard Yang’s breath hitch.

“They like to annoy me... would you be a little less bored if I would’ve stuck around for longer?”

“Maybe...”

“So you miss me?”

Blake smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, twisting so she could press the side of her face further into the pillow. “Can’t confirm or deny.” Blake’s brain suddenly kicked into gear, remembering that Yang had left for a reason and not because she’d just... well, left. “What was it your dad had to tell you?”

“Oh, my mom got in contact with him-“

“ _ **WHAT?!**_ ”

Blake shot up, holding her phone against her ear and staring at herself in the mirror, an incredulous look spread across her face. “Why wasn’t that what this phone call started with?”

“I like to lighten the mood first.”

“So...” she really didn’t know what to say. What do you say in these types of situations, especially across the phone. People who were in long distance relationships were saints because Blake needed to see people to hand these types of conversations. “Have you spoke to her?”

“Not yet, my dad’s gonna try and see if we can find a time to meet up...”

There was something painful that she could feel, even through the phone Blake could feel it. She didn’t know what it was but... she knew she wanted to take that pain away. Replace it with something else. Blake stood up, glancing out of her bedroom window. Her mother and father were climbing into their car, getting ready to go grocery shopping. But Blake, being grounded, was locked in the house wasn’t she?

“Can I... no you’re grounded.”

“Can you come over?”

“Yeah but... I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“I’m home alone. Just don’t get caught.”

She heard Yang shuffle around on the other end.

“Won’t they see my bike when they get back?” 

Good question. Which didn’t have many answers due to the bright yellow of the bike’s colour and the fact that _nobody_ in the area drive a motorcycle. “Park it around the corner...” she said, more to herself than Yang.

“I’m not sure that’ll work, your parents are pretty perceptive-“

“Are you coming or not?”

“Oh no I _definitely_ am it’s just- _oh my god_...”

Blake’s heart dipped. What did ‘ _oh my god_ ’ mean in that context. Had something happened? Did she do something? Did she insinuate something?

“Weiss and Ruby are making out in Weiss’ car, right outside the house.”

Never mind, it was nothing serious.

“You would never make out on your bike?”

“I’ve never thought of that before but it sounds hot.”

Blake snuggled up to her pillow again, realising the faint lemon scent of Yang’s aftershave was fading from its fabric.

“Right, I’ll be there in ten minutes”

* * *

Yang did as she was asked, parking around the corner from Blake’s house. As she approached the house, she felt like Ghira was waiting to pounce, rip her to shreds for even admiring a single strand of hair on his daughters head. She tried to open the door. Failing when she realised it was locked. 

“Yang!” She backed out of the doorways and looked up to see Blake hanging out of her window, hovering over the roof to the porch. “I’m locked in. Come through the window.” 

Suddenly Yang’s life really was a romcom and she was ecstatic for every second of it. She would’ve questioned why Blake didn’t just unlock the door but she wasn’t really up for an argument right now.

She climbed onto the fence at the side of the porch, jumping and gripping onto the roof. She found purchase on the slabs and hauled herself up, crouching, she moved over to Blake’s window and stepped inside. Yang felt amazing after doing that and she hoped it was just as good to watch.

“I really thought you were going to break something.” Blake laughed, causing Yang to scratch her neck nervously. The effect this girls mere laugh had on Yang was unbelievable. Seriously that cuteness shouldn’t be allowed at all. “Just be happy I didn’t, or else your parents would totally know I was here.”

They both sat down on the edge of the bed, a few inches apart. Maybe she shouldn’t have come. Maybe Blake didn’t want to talk about it with her, it is a hard thing to talk about after all. She would know... 

“So your mom..?” 

Maybe she would _actually_ have to talk about it. 

“My dad and Qrow think I won’t be fine on my own, they keep insisting they’ll come with me.” Yang huffed our a bitter laugh, standing up from the bed and shutting the window. “You don’t want them there with you?” Blake said, scrunching her eyebrows as she looked over Yang, trying to find another answer on her.

“I’ve never needed them there, why start now?”

“But this... isn’t this different? I mean it’s your mom Yang.” 

“Exactly, _my mom_ , which means they don’t have to be there.” 

Blake took Yang’s hand, squeezing it and drawing circles with her thumb on the back. She knew that -although she would never admit it- Blake was right. Her father and uncle were right. She needed someone there with her. Or at least-

“How about this then, why don’t you come pick me up after it?” 

Yang smiled, lopsided and tired. She knew all the right things to say didn’t she? 

“Yeah that sounds good.” She nodded and tugged on Blake’s hand, prompting her to move. She kept her grip on her arm, tugging at her hips when they came into reach, pulling Blake onto her lap. Blake smiled and clasped her hands together behind Yang’s neck, whilst Yang held her waist, keeping her steady. “It could be a date...” 

She and Blake instantly blushed at the words leaving her mouth because they both realised something.

Neither of them had been on a real date before.

Blake only ever had Adam driving her places and driving her nuts, meanwhile Yang only had hookups before getting hung up.

“What kind of date would you take me on?” Blake said with a weak smile that screamed ‘ _please take the lead here._ ’ A dreamy sigh slipped past Yang’s lips, her hand moving up to tuck a strand of hair behind Blake’s ear. She never had the best ideas, but dates, especially with Blake, she had thought about before.

“Depends what time it is...”

“ _Oh?_ ”

“During the day it’d be more of a coffee shop date, there’s a bookstore downtown that doubles as a coffee shop that I thought you’d like.” She noted the fond smile that Blake flashed her and the glint in her eye. “At night I’d take you to a movie, maybe to dinner at this sushi place I found if you weren’t sick of me yet.”

“Do you just go looking for places I’d like now?” She laughed, tracing her thumb up and down Yang’s neck. “A little stalkerish Xiao-Long.” Yang shrugged and leaned forward, burying her face in Blake’s neck.

“Sorry I’ve just... thought about it before... _just a little._ ”

Yang realised that she was in too deep to tell her that she’d found both the bookstore and sushi restaurant thanks to Weiss dragging her there a few times.

“Don’t apologise, it’s cute.”

“Yeah well, you’re cute.”

“I’m sure you’ve used that line before, you might be running out of material.”

“And running on fumes, talking to my dad was draining.”

“You should probably talk to him more about meeting up with your mom.” Yang hummed a response, pressing light kisses to Blake’s neck and admiring the purple bruised that blossomed on her neck from the night before. “I’ll talk to him more later.” She didn’t elaborate any further. Leaving no explanation for Blake. She just kept trailing kisses along her neck and her jaw.

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic.” Blake managed to say from the tiny gasps she would let out every few seconds. Yang didn’t sound enthusiastic because she wasn’t. She was pissed off, embarrassed, sad and probably a whole list of other things that she hadn’t unpacked yet. But that didn’t need to be Blake’s problem. She deserved more than that.

“How dare I not sound thrilled about talking about my mom when I could do this.” She punctuated her statement with a swift kiss to Blake’s lips. “Sounds like you’re just avoiding talking about it.” Blake said, more smugly than she would’ve liked it to come out as. Yang sighed and pulled back, wrapping her arms around Blake’s lower back. “Can’t we talk about it later, like when your parents are home and we don’t have the opportunity to make out without anyone walking in?”

“You make a fair point,” Blake giggled and rested their foreheads together “I’ll hold you to that though.” Yang hummed a response and let Blake push her back, black hair splayed across both of them.

The truth was, Yang didn’t want to talk about it. She never really had. She was fine with her dad telling her things about her mom and asking Qrow questions. But talking about her own feelings on the matter... she’d never done that before. Yet Blake had this thing about her were Yang wanted to tell her everything. Her feelings on this matter though... no Blake deserves better.

Besides, why would she talk about her mom when she can lose herself in soft lips, the faint sounds of music in the background and the vague smell of lavender, all supplied by Blake Belladonna herself. It was a crime really but Yang was happy to drop all charges.

“Has anyone ever told you, you’re really good at this?” Yang said, her voice airy and low. Blake shook her head, ducking down for her lips again “Adam said I was shitty at it.” Yang pulled back slightly so she could look up at Blake, her face framed by the strands of black hair that fell down around her. Whenever she mentioned Adam it riled something within Yang. She didn’t really show it but... well he sounded like an awful guy and she wanted to break his nose. That’s where she’ll have leave it at. 

“Guess he’s missing out on the Belladonna treatment then huh?” Blake giggled, rolled her eyes and playfully pushed her face away. “Yeah well... that’s just the Adam Taurus way I guess.” Blake smiled sadly.

“Oh he’s a Taurus?”

“Yeah why?”

“I know a Taurus.”

Blake scrunched her nose in confusion, raising an eyebrow at Yang “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, born in may, star sign’s the bull, _total asshole._ ”

Blake let out a long genuine laugh that had her toppling onto Yang’s chest. The blonde smiled from ear to ear. It was the most adorable laugh ever, she couldn’t help but smile. Her ears stood on end as she laughed, flopping before perking back up again. Yang realised that her fascination with them might come off as odd but... they were _so_ cute. She brought her hand up, gently scratching behind one of them to test the waters.

Blake blushed and shot up, batting Yang’s hand away whilst her ear twitched. “Don’t, it tickles.” Blake must’ve regretted saying that when she saw Yang’s grin broaden. The blonde rolled over, trapping Blake under her, pressing kisses to the underside of her jaw whilst one of her hands scratched behind Blake’s cat ear.

“ _Yang don’t!_ ” She knew that Blake was trying her hardest to show even just a little bit of malice towards what she was doing. So Yang did stop, she didn’t move away, but she stopped and looked up at Blake. She didn’t move away either, just grinned at Yang whilst she caught her breath from the laughing she’d been doing. Blake’s leg wrapping around her waist whilst she continued to smile was the only confirmation she needed that she was actually allowed to do this.

So she continued, Blake breaking into a laughing fit minutes later. How did Blake’s laughing fits, something that was supposed to be ugly and intimate, look gorgeous? Yang briefly wondered if there was anything she couldn’t do.

“ _Blake! We’re back!_ ”

And that was listen out for the door, a trait _neither_ of them possessed.

Both of them immediately shot up, looking at each other in panic. Blake hopped onto her feet and looked out the window. Her dad was bringing the groceries inside whilst-

“Blake?”

Her mom was apparently right outside the bedroom door. “I’ll stall them, just get ready to go out the window.” Blake whispered harshly. Yang could only nod and obey because... well what else could she do. The raven haired girl leaned against the door, stopping her mother from opening it. “Yeah mom?” She called out.

“Hunny, are you alright in there?”

“Yup, yeah just...” she glanced around for an excuse “moving some stuff around.” They both heard the front door close, an indication that her dad was inside now. Okay. Escape time. Yang could do this. Blake nodded at her before slipping into the hallway.

Yang opened up the window, climbing onto the window ledge.

“Dad, I think someone called your office!” Blake yelled. A good lie really that had him sprinting to his office. She would have to wait for him to actually get to his office I think. “Are those _more_ bruises on your neck?”

Oh no, Blake’s mom was going to kill Blake.

“They’re from earlier.”

“Blake they’re fresh bruises, you can tell.”

Oh no, _Blake_ was going to kill _her_.

She heard Ghira walk along the hallway, which prompted her to make her exit. Yang crawled across the porch roof, shimmying down the post, as soon as she hit the ground she sprinted, not stopping until her bike was in sight. Yang had to stop and catch her breath. She had never done something like that before but she couldn’t say she didn’t like it.

God she was in deep wasn’t she? Yang pulled out her phone. 

> **Yang:** will keep ur ticklish ears in mind ;) 

* * *

Blake stood with her back to the door, clutching the door handle, praying that Yang had already left. She didn’t know how she hadn’t heard them pulling up in the driveway, it was right below her window for crying out loud! What was worse was that now she had to dodge questions from her mother- and how the hell was she supposed to explain that _Yang_ had left _more_ hickeys on her than before. 

“Hunny, what’s going on?” Kali said, her eyes narrowing at her. Blake shook her head feverishly “Nothing- _nothing’s_ going on.” Her mother’s eyes widened then she looked along the hallway, looking for Ghira. “Oh I get it.” She smirked.

“You do?”

“Sexual frustration, you tried to do that to yourself.” She pointed at the bruises forming on her neck.

“Wh-What?! Mom, _no_!”

“It’s fine hunny, it’s natural to mast-“

“ _No, no, no, no, stop, please!_ ” Blake turned a brilliant shade of red, covering her face with her hands, her ears pinning back against her head in utter humiliation. This was somehow worse than telling her the truth.

“ _Okay_... well, come downstairs in a moment and help us put away the groceries.”

Blake nodded dumbly and backed into her room, closing it before her mother could see the window wide open. Although she could probably feel the draft. She closed the window as quietly as she could. Before flopping onto her bed and grabbing her phone. 

**Blake:** she thought i was masturbating

**Yang:** HA

**Blake:** you owe me for this embarrassment xiao-long

**Yang:** oh i see how it is ;)

**Blake:** hate u

**Yang:** hold on i’ll make it up to u

**Blake:** what do you mean hold on?

**Yang:** i mean give me a few mins i’ll b bk

**Blake:** yang wtf no

* * *

A few hours later, Blake had long since finished putting groceries away and was curled up on the sofa with one of her books whilst a movie blared in the background. She glanced over at her phone, no notifications. She turned back to her book and realised she had read the same sentence over and over again. Her mother sat on the opposite sofa doing the same. 

She knew she shouldn’t be worried about Yang but... well she was worried about her. 

First last night when she had told he about her mom, then today by sheer coincidence her father told her that her mother got in contact with him. It was just a series of highs and lows for her. She heard the low rumble of a motorcycle engine and instantly knew it was Yang. Her mother’s ears flicked as she looked up, lowering her reading glasses and arching an eyebrow. Kali got up and moved to the front door, opening it. 

Blake stood up, closely following behind her. Her mom tilted her head towards her, narrowing her eyes. “What’s going on?” She asked, clearly seeing the same confusion reflecting off of Blake. The raven haired girl shook her head “I’m not sure, but I’ll tell you later.” Kali sighed and shook her head as she walked back into the living room. She had a feeling that she had annoyed her mother.

Blake stepped outside, closing the door behind her, the cold air brushing against any skin she happened to be showing. She took a few steps forward, Yang greeting her with a sheepish smile. The blonde held out a small stack of books and movies, held together by a leather string. Blake sighed. There was something more going on here.

“Yang, I really like spending time with you, but why’re you here?” The blonde blinked, a light blush sprinkling across her cheeks. She cleared her throat and spun the stack in her hands. “Well, I went to that bookstore I was telling you about and they do this cool thing were they sell the book along with the movie so I... _y’know_.” Blake smiled as Yang handed her the pile.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to get me this...”

“Yeah but I wanted to.”

“Yang?” The blondes eyes flitted to hers, dark circles beginning to form underneath them. She looked exhausted. How she was so exhausted Blake didn’t know. “Yeah?”

“ _Why’re_ you here?”

“Because-“

“I know you’re not just here to give me this.” Blake half smirked, causing Yang to laugh awkwardly and look away, her hands jammed in her pockets. “You can tell me.” Blake reached a hand out, running her hand up and down Yang’s arm, before resting it on her cheek. “I... If I go home it means it’s real- it means my mom is actually here.” Yang’s voice was low and coarse, her eyes hidden from the darkness of the street but the faint glint of tears were evident in her eyes.

“You’re gonna have to go home eventually babe- uh, Yang.”

Her heart fluttered at how Yang giggled and flashed a toothy grin, biting her bottom lip. Blake bit her tongue. ‘ _Embarrassing myself over something I’ve never said before but let slip out so naturally, you’re smooooth._ ’ Blake mentally scolded herself.

“How about this, if you go home you can call me and talk to me for however long you like.”

Yang nodded and placed her hand over the one on her cheek. She took it off of her cheek, gently holding Blake’s hand in hers, kissing her knuckles. “Sounds good...” she continued to hold onto Blake’s hand as she met it drop “Thank you.”

Blake’s ears perked up. “Why’re you thanking me?”

“For being there for me.”

“You’d do the same for me...”

Blake glanced back to her house, seeing her mother peeking through the blinds watching them, she wasn’t surprised at all just annoyed. “Okay, _actually_ go home now.” They both laughed as Yang finally let go of her hand, jogging over to her bike. Blake waved at her as she drove off, finally going back inside.

A land of guilt shot through Blake when she saw Kali sitting on the sofa, her arms and legs crossed. “Sorry I know you’re mad from last night-“

“Forget that, what’s going on?”

Blake sighed deeply.

“Yang’s never met her mom before and she contacted her dad asking if they could meet... I don’t think she knows how to feel.”

“And the gift?” Kali pointed to what Blake was holding.

“I think she just wanted an excuse to keep out of her house.”

“More like an excuse to see you again,” Kali sighed “will she be alright?”

“I don’t know, I’ll just need to look after her until then.”

Suddenly her mom began to cry, tears steaming down on her face, pooling up slightly in her reading glasses.

“When did my little girl grow up and fall in love?”

“Mom we _just_ started dating.”

Her mother continued to bawl for an hour later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u everyone who’s been following along and being patient with how inconsistent I’am. All of your likes and comments mean so much and really keep me writing. I’ll try interact more, but thank u guys and see u next chapter ;)
> 
> Also I plan on having Blake swipe her v card at some point but I want to know if I should actually include it or skip over it. I’ll let you guys decide.


	9. New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang get teased by all of their friends for the day. Yangs big anxiety brain begins to overthink just a little.

Blake smiled as she looked out her window, seeing Yang pull up on the sidewalk, moving to sit sideways on her bike like she did every morning. It was her morning routine now. She woke up, got ready for school and spent most of her day with Yang. Whether she was physically with her, texting or calling, the blonde was present for majority of the day.

She grabbed her bag as she got to the bottom of the stairs. Kali stood in the hallway next to her, seemingly appearing from nowhere. She reached out and adjusted the hood on Blake’s hoodie, pulling the drawstrings tighter to hide the marks on her neck. Blake blushed, she had made an attempt to hide them using makeup and her hoodie, although it seemed like it hadn’t worked out too well.

She tried to will away her flushed cheeks when she walked outside, it didn’t work, but luckily Yang never commented on it either. The blonde smiled, the whites of her teeth gleaming in the morning sun. “Mornin’ babe.” Yang chuckled lightly, despite how she tried to hold it back. Blake rolled her eyes, no malice behind the action whatsoever.

They climbed onto the bike, driving off without a second thought- or a second glance at the road which was extremely dangerous now that Blake thought about it. They stopped at a red light. “Did you tell your mom I’m sorry for turning up last night?” Yang asked. Blake nodded against her shoulder. “Yeah, she said if you needed to come over you can anytime.” Yang hummed thoughtfully.

“I still feel bad though- does she like flowers? I could get those to try make up for it...”

“Yang, you don’t have to do-“

She was cut off by the engine starting up again, the bike whirring around a corner. They couldn’t really talk whilst they rode Yang’s bike. But that didn’t mean to say they couldn’t talk when they stopped. So Blake would usually spend the whole ride thinking, whether it be about something entirely random or kind of major things.

Such as Yang’s mother.

When they parked outside of the school, she knew she couldn’t just bring up that subject. It was something Yang would have to bring to her, to show that she lo-likes her enough to trust her with this. Because that’s what this was based on. Trust. Blake acknowledged that she hadn’t known Yang that long, that it was strange to trust someone this much after they had really only just met.

Yang put her hand on the small of Blake’s back as they walked and her heart soared. Then she remembered, that it didn’t have to make sense, it just felt so right. How could she feel so safe with a stranger? She didn’t know. It was a dangerous game she was playing. She didn’t care.

“So when are you ungrounded?” Yang asked as she opened up the door, holding it open for Blake to walk through “Because my dad really wants to meet you.” There was a beat of silence between them as Blake paused to think about the answer to that. She didn’t know the answer. Yang gulped and hiked her bag further onto her shoulder, gripping the strap. “Uh... and I also- oh what the _fuck?!_ ”

Blake raised her eyebrow at Yang’s sudden irritation. She turned around and was met with Weiss pushed against a locker by Ruby, just down the corridor. There wasn’t really anyone else here so the sounds of them giggling were quite distinct against the other sounds in the hallways. Yang huffed and took a step forward.

“ _No_ , leave them be.” Blake giggled bitterly and grabbed Yang’s arm lightly, the simple action stopping her from taking another step forward. Blake walked around to the other side of Yang, using her arm to guide her from facing Weiss and Ruby to facing Blake. “You can annoy them later... you were in the middle of telling me something?” A nice way to change the subject if she didn’t say so herself. 

Yang nodded and smiled softly. “So if you’re ungrounded this weekend, I was thinking we could go out... _somewhere_?” It was painfully obvious that she was nervous about this. Why? Blake didn’t know. She knew that Yang had asked people on dates before thanks to the extensive background Velvet had given to her. Blake folded her arms, raising her eyebrow at Yang, challenging her to be more direct, to say the one thing she wanted to hear.

Yang laughed and ruffled her bangs, that were more of a fluffy mess of hair than bangs. “Do... do you want to go on a date with me this weekend?” Yang grinned, trying her best to remain confident and charming to give off her full allure. Blake smiled and her ears twitched when a pang of excitement shot through her. “Yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Cool... uh, is Saturday night okay? I’ll be working Friday night and Saturday morning so...”

“That’s fine. Where is it you work again?” She remembered being told on a late night phone call when Blake had teased that Yang was made of money. “Maria’s Mechanics,” Yang rolled her eyes “the old hag has it in for me so be warned.”

“What’d you do?”

“Why do you assume I did something?” Blake arched her eyebrow at her, smirking knowingly. Yang grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. “Guess you’ll never know what I did.” She stuck her tongue out teasingly. Blake pouted and playfully pushed her shoulder. She was about to reach forward, about to wrap her arms around Yang’s neck and press their lips together, because she just looked so charming and inviting. But she couldn’t really do that in front of Yang’s sister...

“Yang!” Ruby yelled, walking towards them with Weiss in tow, her face flush with embarrassment. “Uncle Qrow’s coming in today!” Blake looked up at Yang, who was smiling softly at Ruby. A sisterly love that Blake didn’t know existed. She then frowned when she noticed Yang staring daggers at Weiss.

“So should we go say hi?” Ruby asked, looking between Yang and Weiss then over to Blake, seeking some sort of support. The raven haired girl sighed and took a step forward, tugging on Weiss’ arm. “He might be busy right now so we should get to class.”

Weiss let out a sigh of relief as Blake dragged her off, only fully relaxing when they turned around a corner. “Thanks... is Yang mad at me?”

“I’m going to assume that seeing you with your tongue down Ruby’s throat might have annoyed her.”

“Well you don’t have to say it like _that_!” Weiss’ face turned a shade of red that Blake had honestly never seen before. They went silent as they walked into their classroom, they were the only ones there. They took their seats next to each other at their small two person desk. It was fortunate for Blake to have Weiss as her lab partner because one: she was incredibly smart. And two: it brought the two of them closer.

At least as close as two people who sit next to each other everyday can get.

She looked at Weiss who held a smug grin, despite being teased only minutes earlier. “Ruby said Yang stayed at your place after Coco’s party.” Blake blushed and rolled her eyes, turning away from Weiss. “ _Sooooo_?” Weiss gently pushed Blake’s shoulder, earning a small giggle from her.

“So what?” She acted coy, this was definitely not the way out of this conversation. Weiss let out a small chuckle “What happened? Did your parents know she was over?” Blake couldn’t help it, she let the excitement overtake her as she spun in her seat to look at Weiss again.

“Nothing happened, they knew she was staying.”

Weiss reached up and pulled the hoodie of her hoodie out a little, grinning at the bruises scattered over Blake’s neck.

“Yeah, those look like nothing.”

_‘Embarrassing’_. Blake’s face flushed red. She was completely and utterly embarrassed. Not just because she had been caught but because she lied that nothing had happened. Clearly it had. Something was bound to happen. But... Yang had said she wanted to ask her out again and a small part of her wanted to keep everything a secret until them. A happy little bubble that only her and Yang shared until that time. 

But then again she wouldn’t really care if people knew. 

“I wouldn’t have noticed if Yang would’ve covered hers up better.” 

‘ _Of course she didn’t!_ ’ Blake groaned internally.

“How did you assume that they were hickeys? They might’ve been from football.”

“Well she hasn’t been punched in the throat so you doing that was the only other explanation.” They both laughed as Blake turned away again, trying to regain her composure. “Does she live up to her brags?” Blake really didn’t know what to say to that. Because Yang hadn’t really bragged that much to her. However bragging is a very Yang-like thing to do.

But even if she didn’t know anything about these brags, there was a part of Blake that urged her to jump and defend Yang’s dignity.

“She was...” she said softly, her eyes meeting Weiss’. They both smiled at each other, both of them recalling the weekend. It was then that Blake realised what she was talking about. “Uh- _anyways_! What’d you and Ruby get up to.” She tried her best to tease Weiss, but her nervousness was still evident in her voice.

Weiss however, was so easy to tease, that the slightest mention of anything she deemed embarrassing would set her off. A light blush sprinkled over Weiss’ cheeks and she pouted “The dolt was so adorable...” Blake felt her own heart rate start to return to normal. “I had to sneak her in the house but it really wasn’t a problem, the problem was that she snores-“

“Oh you have that problem too?”

Weiss groaned and rolled her eyes “God, Xiao-Long Rose sisters, loveable idiots...”

“Agreed...”

* * *

“ _Shit_!” 

Yang slammed her locker shut, banging her head against the cool metal. She really hadn’t thought this through when she left the house this morning. She figured ‘ _oh there’ll be a hoodie in my locker, there’s always spare clothes_ ’. But as of a few weeks ago, a certain faunus girl had took up all of her thoughts so _excuse_ Yang if she forgets to bring spare clothes. 

But at least the locker room was empty right now. Or at least it was until she heard Coco laughing.

“ _Awww_ , did Blakey baby take all your hoodies~?” Coco mocked, gaining a blind punch being thrown at her from Yang. “Shut up!” she tilted her head to the side trying (and failing) to conceal the marks on her neck as much as possible. “Hey, have you got a spare hoodie or something?”

Coco nodded and moved to the other side of the lockers, pulled open the door and reached inside. “Yeah, I’ve actually got one of yours, you tossed it in here a while back.” She threw a grey hoodie towards Yang, who caught it instantly. “Why do you need it anyway? Something wrong with your shirt?”

Yang sighed as she took off her denim jacket, tossing it onto the bench behind her. She pointed at her neck as she bit back a smile. Right now Yang was trying to be mad, trying to make Coco think she didn’t want all of these hickeys. But truthfully she loved that there was a little piece of Blake on her... that didn’t sound _weird_ did it?

Coco snorted and took off her sunglasses, smiling broadly as she airily laughed at Yang’s expense. “ _Holy shit_... did you guys-“

“ _No_ , no nothing like that!” Yang smiled bashfully before tugging the hoodie over her head. Coco rolled her eyes and walked over to her locker, picking up Yang’s jacket from the bench. “I always forget that you’re a hopeless romantic.” Yang took the jacket from her and smirked.

“You saying you’re not either?”

Coco scoffed “Got too many notches on my belt to be romantic.”

“Velvet wouldn’t agree.”

“V doesn’t agree with me on a lot of things.”

“Yeah but you agree with her.” Yang smirked and walked past Coco, throwing a glance over her shoulder “Guess you’re more whipped than you think-“

“I’ll get you back for that one Xiao-Long!”

“Go for it!” They both laughed as they walked out into the hallway “You won’t do shit.” The brunette laughed and stuck her hands in her pockets, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. Now she had to pretend she wasn’t whipped like Yang had claimed. 

* * *

Blake and the rest of her friends had decided to spend lunch in the library. She was mainly here because she wanted to help Velvet stack away any new books that had came in, which seemed to be a constant flow from charity shops and actual bookstores alike. 

“Hey Blake, has Yang ever told you about the time she was drunk in Weiss’ car?” Coco asked, leaning back in her chair and kicking her feet up on the table. Blake was almost envious of how effortlessly cool she was. _Almost_. Because with all of that swagger came the responsibility to live up to the smooth beauty that was Coco Adel. 

She thought it must be hard for Velvet, after all, there must be a lot of people who wanted Coco for themselves. 

“Is this one time specifically or?” Blake questioned, not breaking her concentration whilst slotting the books into their rightful place on the shelf. “Oh yes, it was _fantastic_!” Coco grinned at Yang who grimaced, Weiss also shook her head in disappointment at Coco. “One night Weiss was driving a _very_ intoxicated Yang home, she was lying in the backseat- all cozied up with one of Weiss’ pillows.”

Blake got the feeling this wouldn’t be the most pleasant of stories. 

“They decided to sleep in the car that night, so neither of them would get caught. Because both of them were as high as a kite. Weiss left the car and Yang, feeling a little overwhelmed, puked inside the pillow she was lying on.” 

“Of all the stories you could’ve told, this has to be the most disgusting.” Velvet commented as she walked back towards the table. Coco pouted at her “When Weiss came back she lay down on the pillow, there, story wrapped up.” Coco rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, completely out off of whatever she planning to do with that story.

“How thrilling, Yang was, once again, the downfall of Miss Schnee.” Blake said dryly, learning against the bookcase and flashing a grin at Yang. Weiss rolled her eyes and shot a glance at Yang “I truly believe that you will be the death of me.” 

Pyrrha looked back and forth between them “Honestly, I can see Weiss officiating Yang’s marriage.” She interjected, causing a confused stare from everyone. Jaune laughed and wiped away a fake tear “Yeah right, if that happens I’ll wear a dress to the wedding.” Blake quirked her eyebrow at Pyrrha and laughed. 

“Blakey, should we get Weiss to officiate our wedding?” Yang spoke up, grinning broadly, before pausing at her own words. Blake laughed and leaned against the bookshelf, hiding her laugh behind her hand. “You didn’t mean to say that did you?” Weiss deadpanned, letting out a sigh. Yang bashfully scratched the back of her head. 

“Why’re you acting like we didn’t know?” Nora cringed “You texted the football group chat saying Blake has a great-“ Pyrrha clamped her hand over Nora’s mouth. “Saying Blake has a great personality!” She shot Nora a look of disdain who only shrugged in return. Yang hid her face in her hands. 

Velvet walked over tugging on Blake’s arm to get her attention, she sniggered and leaned into Blake’s ear. “She said you’ve got a great ass.” Blake laughed and shrugged “I get the feeling you don’t care.” Velvet smiled and rolled her eyes. 

Blake shook her head “It’s just funny because she tries to be so perfect all the time but really she’s like Coco.”

“So a charismatic asshole.”

“No like a watered down Coco.” 

“There’s no such thing,” Velvet pointed to the table where Coco and Yang were now standing on said table, screwing around with each other again “They are a different species.” 

Coco and Yang grinned at each other, Yang taking a step forward on the table only to try stand on the spot between tables. As she couldn’t actually walk on air, she fell. Flat on her face. Coco somehow following after her. 

Blake sighed to herself, letting out a small chuckle. She had came to accept the fact she had fallen for an idiot. But those thoughts really bad no business being there just now. She screwed her eyes shut and walked forward, smiling as she reached her hand out for Yang to grab onto.

She yanked the blonde up off of the ground, which was much harder than she cared to admit. Yang grinned and didn’t let go of her hand. Instead she slid her grip along Blake’s arm and rested her hand on Blake’s waist, pulling her closer. She turned back to Coco and flipped her off, making Blake laugh. Coco stuttered, her sunglasses flailing to the side revealing one of her eyes. Coco turned towards Velvet who was still stacking shelfs.

“Velvet c’mere a second.”

“I’m doing something.”

“Please?”

Velvet rolled her eyes and walked over, allowing Coco to wrap her arm around her shoulder. She fixed her sunglasses and grinned at Yang, flipping her off in return. Blake looked at Velvet and laughed, feeling her body relax and melt into Yang’s touch. Velvet rolled her eyes and reached up to snatch Coco’s sunglasses. “Okay, you’ve both stroked your egos now.” Velvet said dryly.

“All you two are doing is jerking them off,” Sun said as he strolled into the room, holding his and Neptune’s backpacks. The two bags were easy to tell a part because one was tattered and the other was pristine with diamanté’s. Weiss groaned and stood up as the bell rang.

Coco pointed at Yang, grinning “This isn’t over!” She began walking out of the room, Velvet tugging her away before she could keep up her antics with Yang.

“We’ll settle it on the field Adel!” Yang yelled, gaining a laugh from the other girl. Blake laughed as well, pulling away from Yang. “Nice slip up earlier,” Blake said, laughing at her. The blonde winced. “Sorry I really didn’t mean it! Was it bad?” She asked.

Blake shook her head and folded her arms “No it’s fine,” she grinned and turned away from Yang “Guess your date is just gonna have to be amazing to make up for it.” Yang snorted and darted forward, grabbing Blake’s waist, pulling her back into her. She placed a kiss on the crown of her head “As if it wouldn’t already be perfect,” she said, smiling against Blake’s hair.

Blake giggled and rolled her eyes fondly, reaching her hand up to push Yang away. “Toot your own horn much,” she said dryly “you better get to class before you get yelled at.” Yang pouted and nodded at her, reluctantly letting go of her. She ran off winking at Blake as she spun out the door.

She heard Sun clear his throat behind her. She spun around, raising her eyebrow at him. “What?” She asked, genuinely confused. Had she done something? No she had barely seen him. His jaw dropped. Literally. Was she supposed to know what this meant?

“ _Seriously?!_ ” He yelled. Sun made a clawing action with his hands “The White Fang!” He stuck up his index fingers on each side of his forehead “Adam Taurus!” He ran his finger along his nose, sniffing “Dust dealers!”

“ _Why_ are you doing all the actions?”

“Because _you’re_ not getting the message!” He whipped a laptop out of Neptune’s backpack. Which Blake recognised as his own laptop... “Sun why are you making all of this so unnecessarily complicated?”

“Classified. Can’t tell you that, sorry not sorry.”

“...Have _you_ been taking dust?” Blake asked. She was genuinely curious. And confused. But mostly conflicted. Because she just had a great weekend, why ruin it with thoughts of her exes career when she had someone new to move on with. To be fair Adam was stalking her. So in a way this could also be seen as digging dirt to have him arrested.

Sun turned his laptop towards Blake. “Look,” there was an article open that spoke of Adam’s new personal changes... some of them were human. That was odd for the White Fang seeing as they were a faunus movement. “Weird right? And check this out.” Sun reached into Neptune’s bag and pulled out a file- a real file from a police station- and handed it to Blake. It revealed that Adam was now stationed in warehouses near the docks.

“How do you have this?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged and grinned “Me and Neptune are junior officers at the station downtown,” he pointed his two thumbs at himself “This guy right here convinced them to open up an investigation into Adam.”

“How have you done this?”

“Classified.”

“You’re not actually a cop, you do know that right?” Blake drawled. She was growing tired of this strange act that Sun was putting on, to be quite honest, it was annoying. The blonde half smirked.

“Yeah, but one day... _maybe_. Anyways, if anything happens with him or if you find out anything, you’ve got my number,” he winked at her “Maybe we could even meet up on Saturday? Go scope out the warehouses,”

“I’m going out with Yang so no,” she winced at the idea of rejecting him but... she had better things to do than run around wondering what Adam was up to. Sun smiled and nodded, “That’s cool, I’ll just keep you updated then!”

Was it possible that someone’s name reflected their personality? 

* * *

“Nice one Nora!” 

Nora flashed a thumbs up at Yang from where she lay on the ground after sliding between Coco’s legs, passing the ball to Yang, who had just now scored a goal for them. She grinned to herself. Football. Turns out it was a good outlet for her. 

“That was a ballsy move but I liked it,” Coco said, hoisting Nora to her feet. Pyrrha nodded in agreement “Maybe she should incorporate it into our strategies,” she said, rubbing her neck, still sore from a few minutes earlier when the ball had smacked her in that same spot. 

Yang brought the ball back over to them, tossing it between her two hands. “I believe it’s ten-six to me Adel,” she said cockily. Coco smiled and rolled her eyes. Nora snatched the ball from her hands, tossing it over to one of the other players, yelling for them to keep practicing. 

“A new girlfriend and you’re beating me? Must be your lucky day,” the brunette said, taking off her helmet and running a hand through her hair. Yang grimaced “I can’t believe Nora told everyone I was talking about Blake’s ass.”

“Hey, you said it, I just repeated it.” 

“I was half asleep texting that!”

“Even better, now you’re dreaming about her ass too,” Pyrrha smirked, folding her arms across her chest. Unlike the other two, Yang could actually fire back at Pyrrha, she knew she was easily flustered. “Do you dream about vomit boy calling you a milf Pyrrha?” Pyrrha’s face flushed red, the shade almost matching her hair. ‘ _Result_!’ Yang mentally cheered.

Nora feigned a shocked expression and leaned backwards. “How dare you insult our mother.”

“I wish you guys would stop calling me that!”

“You baby us Pyrrha, you’re our mom.”

“ _How_ do I baby you guys?”

“You once tied my laces for no reason other than you were sitting next to me and I tried to tie my laces myself,” Nora deadpanned. She had became a master of saying anything with a neutral expression. Yang and Coco once theorised that Nora was a part of a mob family which was why she was so good at knocking people out.

Yang looked over at the bleachers, Coco following her gaze. “What’re you looking at?” Coco asked.

“Not Blake’s ass anyway-“ Yang shoved her hand in Nora’s face to shut her up. Velvet waved at them from the bleachers, holding up her camera. She was supposed to be in the library? Blake probably had it covered, which would leave Velvet some photography time. Coco put her helmet back on, nudging Yang on the shoulder.

“Should we get back to it Xiao-Long?” 

* * *

Yang smiled as she sauntered into the library, seeing Blake engrossed in a book, a sight she was quickly growing to love- no that was weird. ‘ _Shut it Yang, you’re already embarrassing yourself_ ,’ she mentally chastised herself. 

“Hey, what you up to?” She asked, more to announce her presence than anything. Blake’s eyes flicked up from her book, the tiny hint of a smile evident in the way her cheeks lifted. It was a pleasant thing to watch, even if it was hidden by most of her book. Blake closed the book over and tossed it in her bag. 

“Sorry, I was reading and lost track of time, you ready to leave?” Blake asked. Yang hummed and nodded. She stretched her arm out and grabbed hold of Blake’s backpack, hoisting it over her shoulder to sit alongside her own bag. “Yang, you don’t have to do that.” Blake said, that small smile from before returning. 

Yang shrugged. Honestly she would never have done this for anyone else, because right now every muscle in her body was aching from the beating she took during practice. Curse Coco and her inherent need to show off... and Nora for her relentless teasing. Pyrrha only got away with it because she could tease her back. 

Blake leaned into her side, the soft fur of her cat ear bristling up against Yang’s jaw. “How are you feeling?” She asked. Yang smiled, it was nice to know someone cared. “Well I was just brutally attacked during practice so I’d say a little shitty,” she quipped, her cheerful tone never leaving her. Blake pouted as they walked through the doors, apparently Yang wasn’t fooling her. Which, in a way, she loved-no weird. ‘Stop being weird’.

The blonde let out a sigh as she turned to face Blake “I feel better, _a lot_ better,” she swallowed. _Hard_. Yang didn’t want to admit it, but having Blake with her during her Mom coming back was unbelievably helpful. She knew that if she fell, if she got hurt, Blake would be there... but there was always that feeling that she wouldn’t be. That, like her mom (and even her dad to an extent), she would give up on her.

It was hard to open up.

“Thank you...” Yang said, so lowly it bordered on a whimper. Blake smiled, a genuine tender smile, and reached her hand up to cup Yang’s cheek. She couldn’t help but lean into the touch. “Of course, I’m here for you,” she said. Yang really wanted to lean down, to close the gap between them and kiss her. She’d done it so many times since Coco’s party, it wasn’t really a big deal at this point. But right now... what she was feeling was more than just a kiss.

And that scared her to no end.

Blake’s ear flicked and she turned her head to the side “Is that your dad?” she asked. Yang raised her eyebrow and turned to see for herself. Lo and behold, there was her dad, walking towards them with a scowl, sunglasses tucked into his open white shirt. There was a woman walking beside him with long jet black hair, wearing a red leather jacket and aviator sunglasses. Kind of cool looking really.

Wait- who was that?

“Yang!” Her dad boomed as he walked towards them. Her brain wasn’t working fast enough, too tired from practice to process anything going on right now. She turned back to Blake “If... if I introduce you as my girlfriend would that be too much?” Yang asked, swallowing nervously. Blake nodded and rolled her eyes “You already asked and I said yes, remember.” 

“Yeah but still indulge me in my fantasy of asking you again this weekend-“

“ _Yang!_ ” Her father boomed again, this time he was only a few feet away from them. They looked up at him. “I tried calling you, your phone just kept ringing out kiddo,” he sighed, scratching the back of his head. Yang nodded and looked down at her feet. Why was she so nervous? “Sorry my phone’s in my bag.” She looked back up at him.

Taiyang cleared his throat and placed his hand on the woman with the black hair’s shoulder. “This is Raven...” Yang felt her heart clench, all of her muscles tighten, her breathing hitch. “She’s your mom.” The woman grinned and reached her hand out “I’m sorry it took so long to meet you.”

Yang’s head swam. She knew she must’ve gone pale. She felt something warm envelope her hand, squeezing it gently. She glanced down to see Blake holding onto her, a soft thumb drawing circles on the back of her hand. Yang didn’t know what she was feeling right now, but that small show of affection slightly calmed her, it gave her the courage to carry on.

She reached her hand out, shaking Raven’s. “Yeah... um... I guess it’s nice to _finally_ meet you,” she cleared her throat. Yang squeezed Blake’s hand back, as a sign of thanks, before her arm slid to her waist, pulling her closer. “Uh, this is my girlfriend, Blake.” The faunus girl smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Raven raising her eyebrow and held her smile, now reaching her hand out to Blake, who’s hand she shook now. “Hope you’ve been keeping my daughter out of trouble,” Raven quipped. “I try,” Blake giggled, shrugging. Yang admired how well Blake was taking being thrown into this mess.

“Actually I haven’t met you either!” Taiyang said, reaching his hand out to shake Blake’s hand as well. “I’m Yang’s dad, she’s told me a lot about you!” He said excitedly, beaming at her as they shook hands. Yang blushed, she hadn’t expected her dad to be so excited to meet Blake. She knew she should’ve expected it but _forgive her_ for being a _little_ off her game.

“It’s really nice to meet you too,” Yang could tell Blake was beginning to get a little thrown off by the family meeting. Taiyang let go of Blake’s hand and waited for her to turn away before looking up at Yang. “She seems cool,” he mouthed. The two blondes grinned at each other. 

“So Yang, what’re you doing right now? I was thinking we could maybe go grab a bite, get to know each other,” Yang was amazed that Raven could remain this calm and composed, not at all bothered that she was meeting her daughter for the first time. Yang on the other hand couldn’t handle a full hangout session right now. 

“I’m actually gonna drive Blake home and I’m kind of tired from practice. Sorry.” 

“Don’t be, what about... _Sunday_?” 

Yang paused. Sunday. That was... soon. That was the end of this week kind of soon. To top off the anxiety of getting to know her mom was that the night before she would be on a date with Blake. A real date, not a ‘ _we’re at a party and we’re flirting_ ’ kind of thing- a sharp jab to her side snapped her out of her thoughts. 

“Yeah... _yeah_ , Sunday’s cool.” 

“Nice... I’ll speak to you soon then,” Raven nodded at her. Her dad nodded as well, turning away in unison with Raven “See you at home kiddo,” he winked. She watched her mom and dad walk away, both of them getting in her dads car and driving off. She let out a long breath.

“Do you think she seemed okay? I think she seemed okay...” Yang said frantically, both of her hands landing on Blake shoulders, almost as if she was trying to ground herself. Blake smiled and gently took Yang’s hands off of her shoulders. “She did... are you sure you don’t want to go with your mom? I can always walk home.” 

Yang shook her head “I’d rather make sure you got home safe...” the blonde looked over at her motorcycle. “Do you think she would think my bike’s cool?” 

“That bike attracts death.” 

“It attracts ladies,” Yang wiggled her eyebrows, drawing a giggle from the raven haired girl. “Sure it does, I bet they line up for you.” Blake half smirked, the words drawling out of her mouth. Yang grinned and raised her eyebrows, “Oh yeah, it just so happens that your the first in line to take a ride.” She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she pulled it out, curious, only to catch a glimpse of the time. 

“Okay, I wanna get you home soon before your mom suspects something’s up and kills me.” 

Yang got the feeling this would be one hell of a week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, sorry I got a little carried away with another bumbleby fic I have in the works (kind of vacuo arc thing but not rlly stay tuned) but I’m back with another chapter! 
> 
> Anyways we’re in lockdown over here where I live so chapters should be coming fast, especially because I’m getting into a groove right now. 
> 
> Thanks for reading everybody, see u next chapter!


	10. Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Yang’s thoughts and feelings. 
> 
> Blake has dinner at the Xiao-Long-Rose household.

**Yang:** so i totes forgot my calculus notebook could u ask velv if i could borrow her stuff?

**Blake:** why can’t you ask her?

**Yang:** bcoz it’ll soften the blow for when she gets mad abt me forgetting my stuff again

**Blake:** fair enough, I’ll ask 

Blake looked over at Velvet who was sitting across the table from her. Velvet looked up, her ears curling down slightly as her eyes narrowed “What does Yang want?” Blake smiled sheepishly and giggled. “To borrow your calculus stuff again?”

Velvet groaned and nodded her head, “Tell her this is the last time because the way she writes down her notes stresses me out.” Blake laughed and went back to typing. 

**Blake:** she said yeah

**Yang:** noice result, thanks babe

**Blake:** i like how i’ve became your negotiator

**Yang:** srsly can’t thank ya enuff

**Yang:** i’ve gotta get bk to it tho, i’m in woodwork and struggling to draw a circle

The raven haired girl laughed and put her phone back in her pocket. She looked up to see an unamused Velvet, fiddling with her camera. “You are _so_ not subtle,” The brunette chuckled. Blake pouted at her, before flashing an innocent smile, “What’s so wrong about that?”

“Nothing, it’s nice to see Yang happy,” Velvet laughed lowly to herself “It’s hard to believe that we’ve only known you for like... a month?”

“Yeah...” she had barely even noticed it had been a month. It felt like forever really. Like she belonged here. “Maybe I was _destined_ to be here,” Blake said dramatically as she went back to cleaning her paint brush. “Now you sound like Pyrrha,” Velvet laughed.

Ren walked over, placing a few empty paint tubs on the desk. “She does have a sort of obsession with the idea of destiny,” Ren chuckled, now helping Blake clean up her paint brushes. Blake always found Pyrrha unbelievably charming. She wasn’t attracted to her but she had a certain charm that made you want to be her friend.

She was basically Beacon’s valedictorian, smart, popular and loved by all, much like Yang and Coco... _maybe_ it was just a footballer thing. They all had their own little unique quirks that set them apart. Coco was a womaniser who had somehow been tied down by Velvet. Pyrrha was obsessed with the idea of romance, fate and astrology, which was cute in its own way. And Yang was... _a lot_ of things.

Yang was the first hot day of the summer. The first smell of bonfire wood in the fall. She was bright, fun, loveable, _unbelievably kind_ , sweet- Blake was getting sidetracked, they were supposed to be talking about Pyrrha believing in destiny. She looked up to see Pyrrha talking to Nora. When had she got here? Had she been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Pyrrha come in? _Probably_.

“We were just talking about you believing in destiny,” Blake said, not knowing if she was cutting into a conversation or not. Pyrrha’s face lit up. Clearly this was a topic she liked speaking of. “Oh, yes!” She squealed excitedly “There’s so many stories around it that are amazing, books, movies, even real life stories. What’s not to believe in?”

She lifted up her pinky, there was a tattoo of a red loop, looking as if it was tied into a ribbon. Blake was familiar with the red string of fate, a common trope for many stories she’d read before. She didn’t know that there would be someone like Pyrrha who was such a firm believer in it. “What makes you like to so much?” Blake asked.

“To be honest, I’ve always liked the idea of true love, romance and soulmates,” she smiled and looked at her pinky “It doesn’t matter if you’ve known them for a minute, a day, a week, _maybe even your whole life_. There’s something that draws you to each other...” she shook her head, almost as if she was shaking out her thoughts. “But that must all sound silly.”

“No, I get it. In a way it makes sense,” Ren said, leaning on the table “You don’t choose who you love or why you’re in love with them. You just do.”

For some reason, that thought comforted Blake. It made everything make sense. Like everything leading up to this point was always destined to happen.

“Maybe you’ve got a little red string connected to all of us,” Nora quipped, smiling over at Blake.

_‘At least one of you...’_ she thought. 

* * *

Blake glanced over at Yang who had her gaze fixed on her paper, intent on finishing this essay before time was up. Blake had long since finished, timed essays were nothing to her, especially since she’d read the article a million times, so writing about it wasn’t a problem when she felt like she’d wrote it herself. 

Yang smirked and finally dropped her pen, looking satisfied with herself. There was something about watching her succeed that made something inside Blake’s stomach flutter and bloom into a joy that spread to her lips, making her smile. She hoped she wasn’t too obvious with her smiling. Although she wasn’t trying to be subtle either.

Yang glanced over at her and sat back in her chair, smiling broadly. It was lucky that they both sat next to each other in their english and politics classes. Well not lucky, Blake had chosen to sit next to her during her first week since she didn’t know anyone else. But she didn’t regret it either.

What was odd and different though was their new teacher, Yang’s uncle Qrow, or Mr Branwen as they had to call him in class. He had his reading glasses on and was focusing on reading over the essays from last week whilst he waited. Yang leaned into her, “How much do you want to bet he brings those home to read over later?” Yang smirked confidently.

Blake raised an eyebrow at her, “What makes you say that?” Yang rolled her eyes and chuckled “Please, there’s no way he’s actually reading all of those, he’s doing it far too quickly.”

“Would you quit your yappin’ firecracker, because I’m _actually trying_ to read over here.” 

Yang’s face turned red from the use of her nickname. It was common knowledge that he was Yang and Ruby’s uncle, and just like Blake had anticipated, he would use up every opportunity to embarrass them. There were people in the class that laughed at the pet name.

“Good going _firecracker_.” Blake sneered, causing Yang’s face to burn brighter. Qrow looked up at Blake, catching her gaze and laughed, not giving her into trouble for talking. “ _Oh come on!_ ” Yang whispered harshly. Blake suspected Politics was no longer one of Yang’s favourite classes. 

* * *

It hadn’t been the best day ever is what Yang decided, whilst she leaned against her bike waiting for Blake to be done speaking with Pyrrha (Yang was making a real effort to not look at Blake’s ass). But the sentiment that Blake was here for her still stood. The faunus girl hadn’t actually said that to her but it was implied in the way she made sure Yang was okay, and doted on her just a little.

It was nice, it was... _unsettling_.

Yang didn’t know why it disturbed her. It was that feeling that it would all go wrong, that she’d leave like everyone else or hurt her in a way she never thought possible. It was why if Yang ever did get with a girl, she thought that it was implied that it meant no strings attached, _which_ led to a punch in the face. Better a broken nose than a broken heart. She’d felt that before, she didn’t want to again.

But Blake was different. Yang wanted so badly to let her in, she was willing to risk her heart being broken just to get a taste of how good it could be to be with a girl she _really_ liked. And when she said ‘ _really liked_ ’ that really meant Yang liked her so much it bordered on something more and that was terrifying, as she had already expressed before. 

The raven haired girl smiled as she walked over to her, attaching her bag to the back of the bike. At this point it was a given that Yang would take her home. A daily routine that she enjoyed taking part in. It kept Blake safe from weirdos and it meant she had this amazing girl riding on the back of her bike. 

It was a win-win. 

Yang leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to Blake’s lips before getting on the bike. _God_ , she couldn’t get enough of that feeling. That electrifying sensation of having someone right there, who you feel cares about you just as much as you care about them.

Driving on her bike with Blake brought out... _depraved_ thoughts (for a lack of a better term). Staring at Blake’s ass was one thing, thinking about what she wanted to do to it was another... another that she pushed to the back of her mind when they were together. 

However dropping Blake off at her house, was where all of those sensations ended. Starting with Blake hopping off the back of her bike, her touch lingering on Yang’s arm as she backed away. “Can’t I convince your mom to let me take you out for dinner or something?” Yang pouted, leaning her hand on one of the handlebars. “Probably not, that was cute of you though,” Blake let out a bubbly giggle.

Blake leaned forward, planting another kiss on Yang’s lips, where Yang grabbed onto Blake’s jaw, hoping the kiss would last a little longer. She felt Blake smile against her and peck her bottom lip again before pulling away. “I’ll call you,” Blake said. The blonde smiled and nodded, biting her lip, not trusting her own voice in that moment. “Alright, I’ll talk to you later.”

She watched Blake walk inside before driving off. 

* * *

Yang ended up in a florists. She really had meant to just go home, _honestly_ she had, but then she thought about how she had just turned up at Blake’s house the other night and... she just wanted to get something to apologise to Kali. Her phone buzzed in her pockets, drawing her out of staring at the many flowers she didn’t know the names of. 

“Hey,” Taiyang’s voice boomed through her phone “We’re doing a big family type dinner thing, any chance Blake would want to come over too? Weiss is here.” 

“ _Uhhh_...” she didn’t really want to say ‘no sorry, she’s grounded because she got super drunk and I carried her home’ so instead, like a sensible person, she said, “I’ll ask.” 

“Cool, call me back then.” 

Her eyes went back to scanning the flowers as she put her phone back in her pocket, one particular flower catching her eye. It was a kind of blue, bordering on purple, that was really vibrant and pleasant to look at, what were they called? She clutched the little tag between her thumb and forefinger. 

“Delphinium belladonna...” she screamed internally after she said it out loud. It was _too_ perfect. She definitely had to buy these. 

* * *

Blake was sitting in her living room. Her and Kali were waiting for Ghira to get back before they had dinner, which could be hours away and she was starving. _Seriously_ , it was torture. It was embarrassing the way her stomach was growling. Her phone vibrated and she glanced over. 

**Yang:** do u just so happen to still b fully dressed still? 

Blake quirked her eyebrow at that text. Oddly worded, very _Yang-like_ in nature, definitely something behind it.

**Blake:** why are you asking?

**Yang:** I’m gonna swing by, shoot my shot, c if ur mom will let u have dinner at my place, y’know, casual things

**Blake:** don’t get me excited at the idea of food when I know my mom might say no

**Yang:** we won’t know till we try, tell ur mom i’ll b there soon 

Blake pursed her lips, trying to stop herself from smiling. That was a fun idea, having dinner with Yang and her family. Very cute and domestic- probably Pyrrha’s kind of romantic fantasy. She looked over at her mom, who was pretending to be too wrapped up in her book to notice her daughter had looked over.

“Mom, Yang said she’s gonna come over.”

“Oh, does she need to speak to you again?”

“No, actually, she needs to speak to _you_ ,” Blake said, giggling in amusement when she saw the confusion wash over Kali’s face. One of Kali’s ears flopped back, raising her eyebrow at the growling engine outside, that was evidently Yang’s motorcycle. “Alright, I’ll bite,” Kali laughed, standing up and walking to the door, Blake following behind her.

Blake was a little surprised when she saw Yang holding a bunch of flowers, the flowers were a vivid colour that was quite distinct in the evening glow. Yang smiled and scratched the back of her head. Kali glanced up at Blake and smiled before looking back at Yang, “What’s all this?”

The blonde held the flowers out for Kali to take from her, “Well these are for you as an apology for randomly turning up the other night, I shouldn’t have done that.” Kali shook her head but still graciously took the flowers, “Well thank you, these are gorgeous, but you really didn’t have to.”

“What type are they?” Blake asked, her eyes scanning every inch of the flower. They really were beautiful. “Delphine Belladonnas.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope, that’s actually what they’re called, I thought it was too perfect so I had to get them,” Yang laughed and held her hands up in surrender. Kali smiled and raised an eyebrow as she looked between Blake and Yang. “What else are you here for?” She asked.

“Your permission to take your daughter out for a _delicious_ meal prepared by a five-star chef,” she said dramatically before dropping her act and scratching at her neck “And by that I mean a fairly average meal, made by my dad, at my house.”

Kali laughed and rolled her eyes, stepping aside in the doorway. Her laugh subsided, giving way to a loving smile, she should’ve known her mother was a sucker for romance. “Go, have fun,” Kali pecked Blake on the cheek and ushered her out the door “Meanwhile, _I_ am going to find a vase for these.”

Blake smiled and waved goodbye to her mom, Yang doing the same with a bright smile attached to it. The couple hurried off to Yang’s bike, climbing onto the back of it. “I can’t believe that worked,” Blake laughed.

“Neither can I!” 

* * *

The house was just as lively as anticipated by the both of them, Taiyang and Ruby were pacing back and forth. Both of them were checking the oven nonstop, cleaning dishes and cutlery as they went. Qrow sat at the table, his legs kicked up onto it, sipping from his flask as he did a crossword puzzle in a newspaper he had in his hand. Weiss, the only responsible person in the kitchen right now, was setting the table and actually keeping an eye on the food so it wouldn’t burn.

Weiss was a rich girl who prided herself on her ability to perform simple menial tasks.

“Yang, what type of engine let’s off the fuel outside of the vehicle?” Qrow asked, not taking his eyes off of his newspaper. “External combustion,” she said, not batting an eyelid at the odd question. Blake forgot that Yang was technically a mechanic, even if she didn’t have the qualifications necessary, she did have the skills and the knowledge.

Tai spun around at the sound of his daughters voice, cheering and smiling when he caught a glimpse of Blake. “Blake! You made it after all,” his tone turned oddly serious when he looked at Yang “Why didn’t you call?” Yang shrugged, moving to take the plates from Weiss’ hands and placed them on the table for her. “I didn’t think you’d mind since you asked anyway.”

“Yeah, but-“

“Tai cut her some slack,” Qrow rather gracefully slid his legs off of the table, placing the newspaper and flask down onto it instead. “ _Thank you_ , Qrow,” Yang nodded at him. Qrow hummed as he downed whatever was left in his flask “Now, as a thanks, refill this for me.”

“You’re an ass.”

“I’m you’re uncle,” Yang took the flask from him and moved to the other side of the kitchen, refilling it with whatever liquor she had pulled from the cupboard. The house was more hectic than she imagined it to be, and Blake had imagined a few things. Taiyang shooed Ruby and Weiss away, telling them to sit down, doing the same to Blake and Yang moments later.

Blake sat down, she honestly felt a little out of sorts. Sure she thought she was prepared for this but the chaos of it all threw her off slightly. Yang sat down in the chair next to her, her arm idly resting over the back of Blake’s chair, leaning back and crossing her legs. Ruby laughed at her and leaned back in her chair as well “You’re doing that thing that dad does.”

“What thing?” Yang asked. Ruby swirled her finger in the air, gesturing to the whole of Yang. “That thing where you both feel the need to take up all of the space around you,” Ruby said, drawing a laugh from Weiss and Blake. The raven haired girl scrunched up her nose “That is something you do,” she agreed.

“Well I _apologise_ for getting comfy,” she put her free hand over her chest and feigned a solemn shake of her head. Taiyang began slicing up pieces of the ham he’d taken out of the oven, placing a generous amount on everyone’s plates as well as potatoes and vegetables. Weiss was chastised more than once for trying to help put out the food.

“Y’know Blake, I used to go to school with your old man, we were on the football team together.”

“Really? I didn’t know.”

“Yup, how is ol’ Ghira?” Taiyang asked before chewing through a piece of meat on his fork. Blake shrugged. She really didn’t know what to say. “I wouldn’t really know, I feel like I’ve hardly saw him the past couple of weeks,” she said, before going back to chewing her food. She was quite hungry from having to wait for her dad, so she was in heaven as soon as the food entered her mouth.

The breathy laugh that escaped through Yang’s nose made her realise she must be showing that she was glad to be eating. She gave the blonde a sharp elbow to the side.

“Sounds like him, all work no play. I’ll never forget the time he was pissed off during practice and pulled his claws out. He was _bustin’ balls_ that day,” Taiyang winked at Yang, knowing she would appreciate the joke. Blake, Yang and Ruby laughed, but left Qrow unamused. Weiss had been strangely neutral the whole time.

“You’re dad said you met Raven yesterday, how’d it go?” Qrow said, nodding over at Yang. The blonde chewed slowly, thoughtfully, conjuring up some sort of answer. She swallowed. “It was fine I guess, she seems cool, I don’t know what you guys were worried about,” she nodded sideways at Blake “I was only alright because Blake was there.”

“All I did was stand there,” Blake said, her ears flicking back in embarrassment. Yang looked at her and half smiled, a smile that only Blake can see from the angle Yang sat at. It was a smile that said ‘ _that’s all I needed_ ’ and that made Blake feel special. Like she had gone that extra mile for Yang in doing such a simple thing as just being there beside her.

“She didn’t dish out any snide comments?”

“Nope.”

“Must’ve been in a good mood,” Qrow said with a flick of his eyebrows. Yang grinned and leaned into Blake, holding up her hand as if she were whispering, although the volume of her voice would suggest anything but. “He likes to pretend he hates his sister,” she looked at Ruby and nodded. Ruby did the same action as Yang, “It’s true, he even sometimes pretends to hate our dad, can you believe that?” The brunette smiled.

Qrow rolled his eyes “Blake don’t listen to them, I _hate_ my family, _honestly_ ,” he winked playfully. Blake smiled and laughed. They had an odd way of showing they loved each other, Blake just figured it was tough love. Or one huge joke. Anyone’s game really.

They all ate, mostly in silence. Blake chanced a glance over at Yang who’s brows were knitted, struggling to cut the ham on her plate. Blake giggled and rolled her eyes, “Do you want me to cut it?” She whispered. Yang shook her head before finally giving up with showing any grace in cutting her food, instead just tearing through it with whatever force she was applying. “It’s these shitty knives, they couldn’t cut butter,” Yang growled, going back to collecting food on her fork.

“Don’t blame the cutlery,” Tai pouted “And stop cursing!”

Yang narrowed her eyes at him and looked over at Ruby, “Rubes, can you cut your food?”

“That’s a good question,” Ruby jabbed her fork into her ham and ran the knife across the meat. It didn’t cut through. “It seems my knife is also shitty.” Yang and Ruby laughed at each other, Qrow joining in with them as well. Taiyang rolled his eyes and looked over at Weiss, begging for some backup. Blake figured that Weiss had been here enough that she was practically a part of the family.

“Uh, maybe you should just get some new cutlery?” Weiss said, wincing in uncertainty. Taiyang sighed and nodded to himself. Yang snorted and looked over at Weiss. “ _Whatever_ would make you say that,” it clearly wasn’t a question, she was just being snarky now. Yang moved around some of the food on her plate using her fork. Weiss glared at her.

“Yang don’t play with your food-“ Weiss slapped her hand over her mouth. They all chuckled, Blake raising an eyebrow at her “You alright there mother?” She laughed. Weiss pouted and quietly went back to eating her food, her cheeks painted pink. Blake could’ve sworn she saw a prideful smile come from Yang.

“Is Jaune getting anywhere with that book that he’s writing?” Qrow asked, pushing his empty plate up onto the countertop. “He hasn’t really mentioned it, Blake’s helping him with it though,” Yang said. Blake had to stop herself from smiling at how Yang sounded as if she was bragging.

“I proofread some of his stuff last night, it’s more of a cliche romance story than anything,” Blake shrugged. Tai grinned and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. “Guessing you’re pretty good at literature?” The blonde man asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Blake flashed a modest smile, “I’m not amazing at it but I like it-“

“I make her write the lab reports in our chemistry class,” Weiss said. A lopsided grin grew on Ruby’s face as she glanced sideways at Weiss, “She helped write my history essay.”

“And I would _literally_ be failing if you weren’t in my politics and english classes,” Yang winced at her, chuckling softly at the admission. Blake bit her lip and turned her gaze away. She was a little embarrassed that they all thought she was _that_ good at literature but... well maybe it was all the books she read.

“The gal was trying to be modest and you all sold her out, shame on you,” Qrow croaked, pointing his finger around the table. Tai laughed and shrugged. “It’s a good thing to have a talent like that, I would’ve killed for it,” 

“You were the starting quarterback for the entirety of your high school and college career, what more do you want?”

“Shut up Qrow!”

Blake was flattered and a little lost for words. Not because of how flattered she was. She was at a loss for words because the family was an organised chaos, Weiss easily slipping into that vibe as well, being adopted in like she was one of them. She loved it. It was something she hadn’t really experienced before, it made her realise just how sheltered she would’ve been if she hadn’t dated Adam. Because now she knew there was more than just silent dinners and teasing parents.

‘ _Who knew controlling exes could prepare you for bizarre family dynamics,_ ’ she thought, her shoulders jumping as she chuckled silently to herself.

Yang’s arm slid along the back of her chair and landed on her shoulder. “I forgot to mention we’re a fairly... rowdy family,” Yang leaned into Blake and whispered. The faunus shook her head, unable to contain the warm smile spreading on her face. “I like it... I also kind of expected it to be like this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That being hotheaded comes in the Xiao-Long package.”

Yang smiled and rolled her eyes playfully, “Can’t argue with that.” Blake smiled at Yang, briefly thought about leaning over and giving her a swift kiss, then realised that it would be extremely inappropriate seeing as they were sat at a dinner table with Yang’s family. Her ear twitched, sensing something behind her.

Blake and Yang looked across the table to see Ruby making a kissy-face, using her hands to create a heart. Surprisingly, Weiss joined in with her. Blake laughed whilst Yang rolled her eyes and flipped her off. “What age are you again?” Yang asked. Ruby grinned.

Blake didn’t like that mischievous grin.

“Old enough to know my sexual tension radar is unparalleled,” Ruby said, her voice unwavering so as not to give her away. Weiss bit down on her lip and tucked her head into Ruby’s neck to stifle her laugh. Blake and Yang’s faces turned scarlet, both of them sputtering at the same time.

Tai and Qrow turned back around, Tai’s brows furrowed but a wide grin on his face. “What?” He asked, baffled by what his daughter just said. Blake assumed that Yang was usually the one to hit out with stuff like that. Qrow held up his index finger, gesturing for them to hold on a second while he took a drink from his flask.

“It’s true, y’know James?” Qrow said, gaining a slow nod of understanding from Tai. “James Ironwood?” Tai asked, just to make sure. Qrow nodded.

“Well a few years back when Ruby was just starting high school, Ironwood was giving a presentation to Beacon, and was assisted by our old pal Glynda-“

Yang let her head rest against Blake’s and groaned loudly. Qrow glared at her and held up his index finger.

“Shut up- _anyways_ , Ruby came home and said - _I remember her telling me exactly_ \- I think Ironwood and Glynda have something going on,” Qrow pointed his hand at himself, and for a moment Blake _believed_ that he was still shocked by the story.

“Believe me I was shocked, I still am, but I did a little digging...” he continued on. Qrow twirled his hand in the air and looked over at Yang “And what’d I find firecracker? Remember you were there.”

Yang groaned again. “He found out that Ironwood and Glynda had been having an affair,” she said dryly. Blake rolled her eyes and gently squeezed the hand on her shoulder, her own way of telling Yang that the story would be over soon.

“ _Exactly_! Ever since that day if I wanted to know who was sleeping with who, I ask Ruby,” Qrow released one of his hands as if he was dropping a mic, looking very pleased with himself. Taiyang looked over at Blake and mouthed, “ _What_?” Blake shook her head. “ _I don’t know,_ ” she mouthed back.

“Yeah, I’ve always picked up on sexual tension, it’s how I knew Weiss was into me-“

“ _Ruby_!”

* * *

Yang managed to escape from the dinner table, making the excuse that she needed to go to the bathroom. Instead she slipped out onto the porch. She needed space to think. Ruby’s ‘ _sexual tension_ ’ comment hadn’t gone unnoticed by her, or Blake. She wondered if Blake thought nothing of it but... well maybe Yang should as well then. She didn’t know.

Yang was confused. 

So here she was on the porch, alone, given some time to think. Yang knew that what her and Blake had wasn’t just pure animal attraction (and she used that term loosely in order to not offend Blake... even though she wasn’t saying it out loud). That’s the part that confused her though. She was so used to hookups at parties that she had forgotten what it was like to actually _like_ someone. 

Yang sighed and leaned her head down on her arms. She looked through the door leading back inside. She caught a glance of the kitchen, where she saw Blake laughing and chatting with her dad. She turned back around, tucking her head in her arms as she smiled. The sight had gone straight to her heart. She knew what she felt for Blake was more than what she was willing to admit right now. 

It was new, it was _definitely_ real, and it was a daunting sensation. 

“ _Hey_...”

Yang shot up and turned towards the door. Weiss held her hands up and had a tiny smile on her face as she walked out onto the porch. “Don’t worry, it’s just me,” she said lightly “But _usually_ people don’t take fifteen minutes to go to the bathroom.” 

“I just wanted some air,” Yang smiled softly and turned her head away “I knew Blake would just worry if I said I was going out for some air.” 

“Yeah well, _that’s what happens_ when you have a girlfriend...”

There was a comfortable silence between them, the only sounds coming from the voices inside the house and the cars zipping by on the street. And yet, with the busy world around them, so many things to focus on, Yang could only think about Blake. _Blake, Blake, Blake_ , like a mantra in her mind. 

“Are you alright?.. You’ve been a little off with me since Saturday,” Weiss said, looking as if she regretted her words as soon as they slipped past her mouth. Yang sighed. “You know it’s hard for me to open up to people, yet you basically forced me into talking about Neo,” Yang said lowly. There was no malice in her tone. Just pain. 

Weiss’ heart clenched. Obvious, in the way that the waves swayed inside her ocean eyes. 

“I’m sorry... I was nervous- _and_ _stressed_ \- and I shouldn’t have said that, so _I am_ sorry.”

Yang nodded slowly, understanding what she was saying and accepting her apology. “That’s alright... it just hurt a little,” The blonde said. Weiss screwed her eyes shut and pursed her lips, her hands clenching around the wooden railing, acrylic nails scratching against the chipped paint.

“But Yang... can you really say you would’ve told Blake about her if I hadn’t brought it up?” Yang glared at her. “I’m not trying to justify me slipping up but... _never mind,_ ” Weiss exhaled and shook her head.

“No, I know what you mean... maybe I wouldn’t have,” Yang was too stubborn to admit that she probably wouldn’t have “But it’s done now isn’t it,” the blonde shrugged and smiled. Weiss’ creased her brow, “I still feel bad about it.”

Yang didn’t care about minor slip ups, only things that were going to happen next, what had a chance to happen. The blonde rapped her knuckles off of the railing. “What...” should she even ask? “What do you think of Blake and me?” Too late, she was asking.

Weiss’ eyebrow flicked up an a bemused smile graced her lips “ _Yang Xiao-Long_ , are you asking _me_ for advice?”

“Well if you’re gonna be a dick about it just forget it,” Yang huffed. Now they were back in silence. The white haired girl cleared her throat, she didn’t want the quiet to last long. “What do  _ you _ think about yourself and Blake?”

Yang chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip, her eyes focused on nothing as her brain tried to form an answer. “I think that Blake is this gorgeous, sarcastic and overall _amazing_ girl, that has _apparently_ just fell into my lap,” she laughed bitterly “But I think she’s been hurt by her ex and is trying to move on with her life.”

“ _And,_ what else?”

“And I...” she was suddenly choked up. Everything catching in Yang’s throat, stinging her insides. She could feel her heart beat through her chest, each thump a loud beat of a drum in her head.

“ _And you have feelings for her,_ ” Weiss whispered, low enough that they both knew only they could hear. An admission that didn’t need to come from Yang’s mouth, because it was obvious. To anyone who watched them, they must already know. But then again, Yang’s own stubbornness to say it herself got in the way-

“I never said that,” The blonde growled, forcing a frown upon her face as she looked over at Weiss. The white haired girl laughed and swirled a blue acrylic nail in front of Yang’s face, “You don’t have to say it, it’s written all over your face.” Yang laughed and pushed her hand away, turning around so she was leaning her back against the railing now.

“I think she’s different...”

“I know she is, but what makes you say that?”

“For a start, I don’t think she would ever hurt you like everyone else did, _but_ ,” Weiss jabbed her nail into Yang’s bicep, causing her to whimper in pain. “You need to talk to her; let your guard down and let her in.” Yang nodded. She knew herself that was the reality of what needed to be done, it was just nice to hear it from Weiss.

The blonde groaned and reluctantly pulled Weiss into a hug. “You’re such a pain in the ass,” Yang chuckled, allowing herself to relax for just a moment, knowing she was safe here with her friend. Knowing that letting a few of those walls come down right now wouldn’t kill her. “Love you too,” Weiss rolled her eyes.

‘ _Okay, getting too sappy,_ ’ Yang thought. She tightened her grip around Weiss, lifting her up. Weiss shrieked and smacked her shoulders, willing her to be dropped to the ground.

The blonde walked back into the house and into the kitchen, still carrying Weiss.

“Had to bring her back by force, she was sick and tired of the same stories being told again.” Yang dropped her down, Weiss scurrying away to Ruby’s side. Blake laughed at them as she stood up, picking up the pile of plates and cutlery that had been stacked up in the middle of the table, only for Yang to reach around her and snatch them out of her hands.

“No, _Yang_! I was being helpful!” She whined, following Yang over to the sink. Yang laughed as she set them down, turning on the sink. “It’s fine I’ve got them,” Yang said, reaching for the sponge and soap. Her hands we focused on scrubbing a plate, but her eyes were glancing sideways, watching Blake roll up her sleeves.

The raven haired girl nudged her over and gently took the sponge from Yang’s hand. “Let me help,” she smiled up at Yang. The blonde smiled and grabbed the cloth at the side of the sink, drying the dishes as Blake passed them to her.

It felt like a dream. As if her whole conversation with Weiss was meaningless because how could there be a single doubt in her mind. Not when standing here, doing such a simple task, with Blake by her side, felt _so right_. Like everything had slot into place for the first time.

She felt herself choke up again and had to close her eyes for a moment. The sudden influx of emotions caught her off guard and overwhelmed her.

“Is... washing the dishes your new way of flirting firecracker?”

That brought her back. She forced out a laugh that sounded authentic enough to pass as real. She watched Blake’s ear twitch. Apparently there was no such thing as fooling Blake Belladonna. That was just one of the many things she liked about her.

But Yang would be here all week listing those things off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I get really into writing and spin up another chapter? Yes. Will I continue to do this? Probably. Welcome to quarantine baby ;)


	11. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang go out on their first real date together.

Blake sat on the arm of her sofa, one eyebrow raised at her mother. Blake, who was supposed to be grounded (at her big age) was now ungrounded. Why? Because apparently Kali was a sucker for romances, particularly those corny high school romances you always see on TV. Yang must’ve reminded her of those.

“So you’re fine with letting me go out tonight?” Blake asked again, just to be clear that she wasn’t hearing things. Kali laughed and nodded, “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” Blake nodded slowly. It was going much better than expected. She had expected at least some ‘ _but I said’s_ ’ being thrown in there by her mother... but _nope_ , she was just going straight to a _yes_.

Ghira strolled into the room, huffing as he plopped down onto the sofa, gently squeezing his daughters leg as a ‘hello’. “Blake has a date tonight,” Kali said, hiding her smirk behind her teacup. Blake glared at her. Ghira raised his eyebrows, baffled by this revelation. “With Tai’s daughter?”

“Yeah...”

“I’ll need to catch up with Tai soon, I haven’t saw him in a long time,” Ghira said wistfully, smiling to himself as he reached for the tv remote, Kali grimaced as she knew he was changing the channel. “Yang’s dad said you were annoyed at practice one day and burst thirty footballs,” Blake laughed, pushing her dads shoulder playfully. He laughed as well and shook his head “That’s nothing compared to what he did.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Blake said jokingly. “He used to be the class clown, was always doing something stupid or trying to get a girls attention.”

“I think that runs in the family but continue.”

“One time, at the end of one of our matches, Tai decided it would be _hilarious_ to kiss one of the cheerleaders on the other team, which started a fight between the two teams.”

“Sounds entertaining.”

“ _And_ painful, I left with more bruises from that fight than I did from the actual game!” Ghira bellowed, a fond look in his eye. Blake always forgot that her dad was more than just some guy who started a faunus movement. He used to have some sort of a life. “I can’t believe you used to be cool,” Blake snorted. She couldn’t resist getting her own bit in there. “Do you know he was the only one of his friends that couldn’t drive?” Kali said, flicking an eyebrow at Ghira and laughing at his expense.

“No?” The raven haired girl narrowed her eyes and laughed lightly, there was obviously more to this story. “During one of his driving lessons he got annoyed and his claws came out, to say the steering wheel was turned into a scratching post would be an understatement.” Blake laughed, standing up to pull her vibrating phone out of her pocket, “Who knew you were so sensitive dad.” She glanced down at her phone, vaguely aware that her parents were continuing to speak in the background. 

**Weiss:** are you doing anything?

**Blake:** nope, why?

**Weiss:** want to go shopping? I need new clothes 

“Mom would I be pushing my luck if I go shopping with Weiss right now?” Blake asked, her ears falling back as she smiled angelically. Kali shrugged and set her teacup aside, “Go shopping if you like. As long as you don’t spend all of your money.” 

**Blake:** yeah i’ll come with you

**Weiss:** nice, i’ll pick you up soon

**Weiss:** btw my car’s a mess so don’t mind it

**Blake:** I bet it’s not even that bad

* * *

‘ _So maybe it was that bad_ ,’ Blake thought as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car. She supposed that someone as uptight as Weiss would have to let herself down sometimes, but this- _this_ was an entirely different mess. And for such a nice car too, an all white, convertible mercedes, it was a mess inside.

There were textbooks, clothes and random bags strewn out across the backseat (there was even underwear but she wouldn’t comment on that). A few takeaway boxes had taken residence on the floor along with bottles of water and juice.

“ _Stop judging!_ ”

“ _I’m sorry!_ ” Blake laughed, ruffling her bangs to hide her obvious grin “I just didn’t expect it to be _this_ bad.” Weiss pouted as she started to drive, her eyes squinting to look at a traffic light. “Yeah well I had to sleep in my car last night, my dad kicked me out-“

“All of that is from last night?!”

“ _Yes_! I had to change clothes and eat didn’t I?”

“There’s more than _one_ outfit lying back there-“

“Those were from other time’s he kicked me out,” Weiss sighed, keeping her eyes focused on the road, her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Blake didn’t actually know a lot about Weiss’ home life other than it was very lavish and her dad sucked. She knew Weiss was also convinced that her brother was either lucifer or the next Hannibal Lecter.

“Wouldn’t you rather go stay with Ruby instead of sleeping in here, I bet they wouldn’t mind,” Blake said, tilting her head to glance sideways at Weiss. She shrugged, her white hair bobbing. “I don’t really want to bother them, besides it’s not so bad sleeping in the car- kind of exciting really,” She smiled. Blake knew that last part was a lie because it was accompanied with a smile.

“Why... why did you get kicked out?” Blake asked, and after a beat of silence added, “Sorry, you don’t have to answer-“

“No, it’s fine... ever since my sister moved out and got on with her life my dad wants me to take over the company. But he needs me to make a lot of commitments that _I’m_ not willing to make.”

“Like what?”

“Like arranged marriage - _seriously_ how old fashioned can one man get - not to _mention_ the fact he loathes that I’m gay, which is all the more reason to sneak Ruby into the house right?”

“Sure but...” Blake couldn’t really find the words to say anything back. Her and Weiss led completely different lives. The most family drama Blake had ever had was White Fang related and her dad saying Adam was trouble- at the time she insisted he was wrong but... you live and you learn. Weiss however seemed to have constant drama. “You know you can stay with me too right?” Blake said, she didn’t know if she was overstepping any boundaries. “We are friends and my parents wouldn’t mind...”

“Thank you, but I promise I’m fine, but if I ever need a bathroom to use...” Weiss trailed off, a glint in her eye as she looked over at the faunus. Blake laughed and smiled back, “Then my bathroom is all yours, but I can’t promise my mom won’t try guilt trip you into staying.” Weiss laughed, rolled her eyes and muttered a response that Blake didn’t quite catch even with her superior hearing.

They settled on listening to the steady stream of music coming from the radio, the occasional curse slipping from Weiss’ lips as she got pissed off at the other drivers. It was so peaceful and fun that Blake was happy to spend the day like this. Then it hit her, she had a date, her first _real_ date, with Yang.

Her brain spiralled as they circled the parking lot, looking for a space for Weiss’ car. What should she wear? Where were they even going?

“You’ve got that look, what is it?” Weiss said dryly as she turned off the engine, both of them stepping out of the car before Blake could reply. “Nothing,” Blake said quickly. She didn’t want to elaborate on her current mental breakdown. Mainly because she knew Weiss would drag her to buy an outfit she probably wouldn’t even wear. They continued walking towards the mall, Weiss taking the lead, her head held high, off to spend her fathers money.

The two girls strolled through stores, idly browsing, until they got to one store in particular. One that Weiss looked far too happy to be inside. It wasn’t the most expensive clothing store Blake had ever been inside but it was expensive enough to make a dent in someone’s wallet. It was safe to say Weiss was ecstatic upon seeing their collection of heels, skirts and for some reason shirts (Weiss was quite into button-down shirts).

Blake had been tasked with sitting outside the changing room and judging everything Weiss tried on. Which was easier than you’d think as Blake could easily convince her that she had actually processed what she was wearing, even though she was instead scrolling through her phone. When a text pinged through from Yang she thanked any and all of the gods above. This meant she could ask where they were going tonight without looking like she was worrying.

**Yang:** morning babe, u up yet?

**Blake:** it’s almost noon but yeah i’m out with weiss, did you just wake up?

**Yang:** nah i’m at work, i just didn’t want to txt earlier in case u were still asleep 

‘ _How thoughtful,_ ’ Blake thought, smiling at her phone. 

**Blake:** are you sure you should be on your phone at work?

**Yang:** it’s fine, maria wants to kill me anyway, but she did say she’d give me extra lien if I finish installing this engine

**Blake:** that was nice of her

**Yang:** yeh it was now i can spend it all on u tonight ;)

**Blake:** where are we going again?

**Yang:** dinner and a movie? ur choice since ur the movie expert

**Blake:** only if you choose where we eat

**Yang:** u drive a hard bargain but i’m in, pick u up at 6?

**Blake:** perfect 

“Are you done yet?”

Blake jumped out of her skin at the sound of Weiss’ voice. She forgot where she was and what she was doing momentarily. A trend that Yang seemed to have started for her, which also seemed to have no end. Weiss giggled and held a plastic bag full of clothes up in front of Blake’s face. “Whilst you were texting, I went and bought my things,” She said in that same matter-of-a-fact manner that she usually did.

“Sorry,” Blake apologised, standing up to join Weiss as they began to walk out of the store “I was just asking Yang where we were going tonight.” She felt better saying that out loud now, if she knew it was only dinner and a movie she could prepare for that. Weiss nodded and smirked. “Where are you going then?”

“A vague reply of ‘dinner and a movie’, so I don’t actually know.”

“Sounds like Yang,” Weiss sighed, seeming to hesitate before saying, “Has she been acting weird lately?”

Blake raised her eyebrow. She wouldn’t quite describe Yang as weird, because she wasn’t, she was more of an impulsive person than anything. Likes to do things in the moment, that kind of stuff. The weirdest thing Yang had done is offer to drive her home, which was strange for someone you had just met but that was just who Yang was. Blake would call it abnormally kind, but it didn’t mean she didn’t like it.

“No, what makes you ask?” They stopped in front of the door, Blake pushing it open and holding it for Weiss, who looked to be thinking up an answer. “It’s just, everything with her mom lately, I thought it might take a toll on her.” They both winced in unison as they sat down on the car seats. ‘ _Nice going Weiss, park right in front of the sun,_ ’ Blake groaned internally. “She’s never really been one to talk about what’s going on,” Weiss continued, turning on the engine “So I usually need to look for _Xiao-Long subtext_.”

That was... _concerning_. Blake would like to think that if something was going on Yang would talk to her about it. Because she could; she should be able to talk to Blake. Speaking to Pyrrha during the week, she had realised that she wasn’t entirely sure what drew her and Yang together, but she was certain she trusted her. It was something magnetic, an undeniable pull towards one another. But there was always that doubt.

Was it one sided? Was Blake the only one feeling this way? She didn’t know. Yang hadn’t spoken about it-

_ Yang hadn’t spoken about it... _

“She would tell _me_ though, right?” Weiss obviously caught the uncertainty in her voice, although she only gave away that she caught on for a fraction of a second. “I honestly don’t know,” Weiss said. Blake understood that she was playing coy, she would do the same. It didn’t make it any less of a pain in the ass but still, she understood. They were both startled by the car vibrating; ringing like a phone. Weiss clicked a button on her steering wheel to answer.

“Hello?”

“Heeeyyyyy Weiss!” Ruby’s voice boomed throughout the car. Weiss chuckled and rolled her eyes “I’m assuming you’re calling because you want something?” She said. Blake could imagine Ruby right now, a sheepish smile on her face and a hand scratching at the back of her neck. “Yeah, can you swing by and drop off a phone charger at work for me please?”

“I can do that.”

“Awesome, thanks Weiss!”

The call hung up, Weiss turned to Blake with a pained expression. “You need to help me clean this car.”

Blake burst out laughing. 

* * *

They parked outside of what Blake assumed was where Ruby worked. Although she didn’t have time to even process where she was before Weiss was tasking her to clean out the back of her car. She didn’t mind doing that, she wanted to. Weiss had gracefully slung all of her spare clothes into the boot of her car, urging Blake to do the same with the rest of the trash. 

But Blake had opted to take the hard way out and actually clear out the trash from her car. She was in disbelief at the amount of water bottles she had thrown into the garbage behind the building. But it was when she threw the third takeout box of salad (who orders takeout and gets a salad?) that she deduced that not all of this was from last night. 

She sighed to herself as the lid on the trash can fell shut. Now that she had time to herself, she could finally process where she was. She was at a garage. ‘ _Ruby must work at a garage like Yang..._ ’ she blinked a few times. She wasn’t that naive to think that they both worked at a garage, but different garages. Blake took a few strides forward, her hair bouncing, she looked up at the sign above one of the entrances. It read ‘Maria’s Mechanics’. 

She looked inside one of the open doors. There she was; Yang under a car, her muscles flexing as she tightened a bolt on the underside of the car. “Yang?” She called out, crossing her arms across her chest as she walked inside the garage, careful not to slip on any of the stains on the floor.

“Blake?!” Yang sputtered. She slid herself out from under the car and tried to sit up, only to bang her head off of the the bumper in her rush. She recovered quickly, sliding herself fully out before standing slowly, holding her forehead. “What’re you doing here?” Yang asked, a genuine look of confusion washing over her. “I’m here with Weiss, she’s dropping off a charger for Ruby...” Blake trailed off as she looked Yang up and down.

There was the bad kind of messy, like the back of Weiss’ car, then there was Yang, who somehow made messy look _good_. Her navy blue overalls had smears of oil and grease all over them, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. There were parts of grease and oil smeared over her arms, even a small part on her cheek where she must’ve wiped her face. Yang grinned cockily. “See something you like?” She said, grabbing her shoulder with one hand and flexing the muscles in her forearm.

Blake’s ears pinned back, she looked away with an obvious blush on her face. “Jerk,” she muttered. She tried her best to pout or frown- do anything other than smile. But she smiled. Small and gorgeous. It made Yang’s grin soften into something sincere that Blake had grown to adore. Blake willed away her blush before looking back at Yang, walking a little closer to look over the car she was working on.

“So... this is still a working car?” She asked. The car looked like it belonged in a scrapyard. The paint was scratched all over, slight rusting in parts, and there seemed to be hundreds of vital parts missing from under the hood of the car which lay open for all to see. “Technically no, but once I get the engine installed then it’ll be ready to pickup.”

“Even with all that...” Blake swirled her finger around in the air, indicating to a rusted part on the blue paint. Yang sighed and rolled her eyes “The cheap douche refused to get another paint job, so it’s his loss,” she growled. Blake couldn’t help but giggle at how annoyed Yang was. She turned around, her head looking at the other cars sitting around. There were a couple that looked brand new, one that looked like it needed some work, and one with Weiss and Ruby sitting on the hood.

“Ruby you’re supposed to be cleaning!” Yang yelled across the garage, her sisters head snapping up when she heard. Ruby looked around the garage and shrugged, acting as if it wasn’t a big deal. Blake suspected that it might be something she _should_ do, what with the random oil canisters and tools lying around the floor. “So, for tonight, I was thinking-“

“ _Xiao-Long!_ Who said you could take a break?” A voice like an old worn record played out, carrying across the garage and going straight to the couples ears. Yang winced, one eye halfway closing as she did so. Blake looked to see an old woman walking over, her cane clacking against the ground with each step. “Blake, this is my boss, Maria,” Yang said, holding her hand out to introduce the woman.

“And Maria, this is my girlfriend, Blake,” Yang reached her hand out to put it on Blake’s shoulder out of habit, only for Maria to smack it away with her cane, causing Yang to whine and shake her hand in pain. “Don’t touch her with those dirty paws!” Maria scolded before looking at Blake with a sweet smile “It’s nice to meet you dear, she speaks about you often.”

Blake smiled and looked over at Yang, her cheeks now stained red as she turned back to the car, going back to work. “It’s nice to meet you too, sorry for stopping in.” Maria shook her head. “It’s no bother at all, Yang has a knack for mechanics, a real talent for it really.”

“Maria, that might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me-“

“It’s true- although you’re a total slob, wipe that oil off of your face!” Maria said, lightly smacking Yang on her back with her cane before excusing herself, walking over to Ruby. She passed by Weiss, who was now walking towards Blake. She supposed that it was time for them to leave. Weiss nodded at Blake to confirm that they were leaving.

“We’re going now,” Blake announced, gently tapping Yang on the bare part of her arm. Yang hummed and pulled away from her work, leaning in to peck at Blake’s lips. Blake smiled against her and reciprocated, her fingers dancing along Yang’s jaw before she pulled back. “Sushi for dinner?” Yang asked, almost so quietly that only the two of them could hear.

“Can’t we go somewhere you _actually_ like?”

“Okay, but if you don’t like it tell me,” Yang said, Blake hummed in acknowledgment and gave her one last kiss before pulling away. “I’ll see you later.”

Yang watched as Blake left with Weiss, the white haired girl looked as if she was thanking god that they’re display of affection was over. Yang went back to messing around with the car engine, a goofy grin on her face. Was it weird how excited she was to go out tonight?

“She seems like quite a catch,” Maria interjected, pulling Yang out of blissful thoughts. She couldn’t disagree though, so she sang, “ _She is indeed._ ” Maria hummed and handed a wrench to Yang, sensing that she needed that tool somehow. “Maybe you should tell her that, I hear some women like that.”

She really should, but maybe she’d just scare Blake off if she did. That was the last thing she wanted. Then again maybe Blake would feel the same way- wait why was she even listening to this old hag? 

“ _When_ are you retiring again?” 

* * *

Yang sat outside Blake’s house, waiting for a text either telling her that she’ll be out in a second or telling her that she should come inside. When she got neither she began to fiddle with the collar of her orange flannel shirt. She wasn’t sure if what she was wearing was ‘date’ material but at least she tried. 

And by tried she meant she wore something other than one of her letterman jackets or a hoodie. 

She looked up when the door clicked open and let out a sigh of relief. At least her and Blake had the same standard of clothing. Kind of fancy, kind of casual, somewhere in between. Plus, Yang drove a motorcycle, so neither of them could wear a skirt or a dress. Not that Yang would anyway. Last time she wore a dress was tenth grade. That was actually a long time ago now that she thought about it, back then- 

“Are we going or are you just going to stare into space?” Blake laughed, ducking her head down to gaze up at Yang. The blonde laughed and ran her hand through the tuft of her hair. “Yeah we can go, you look good by the way,” she said, flashing her signature charming smile. Blake smiled at her “Thanks, this shirt really suits you by the way,” Blake tapped on her collar.

Yang considered adding more shirts to her wardrobe now. She climbed onto the bike, relishing the way Blake held onto her waist as they drove off. Yang knew she thought about it a lot, but every damn time they rode together it felt amazing. Like in those old movies where the guy would ride around, all cool, with his perfect girl on the back of his bike. Or at the end of grease when they rode off into the sky, but to be fair some people had theories that they died at the end of the movie- was that the theory? Was she mixing it up?

She came to a halt outside the restaurant, as did her rapid thoughts.

So Yang was a little nervous, no biggie, she would pull through. She took Blake’s hand as they walked towards the restaurant, listening to her speak about how she liked the look of the place. She reached her hand out, pushing on the door, only for it not to budge at all.

“Yang that’s the window.”

“ _Oh...”_

Yang bit her tongue, holding back an embarrassed laugh. Blake however did no such thing, openly letting out that melodic giggle that Yang enjoyed so much. She reached out again, actually opening the door this time and holding it open for Blake to walk through. “It’s weirdly empty, especially for the weekend,” Blake commented as they walked past rows of empty booths, eventually settling on one that seemed far enough away from everyone to give them privacy. 

Blake looked around the room as they sat down, staring at the neon pink lights above the bar, they were the only lights that were in the restaurant at all. “I like it,” Blake said, shrugging off her corduroy jacket, giving way to a long sleeved white t-shirt, the neck of said shirt gaping so wide it could clearly show Blake’s collarbone. Yang didn’t know she had a thing for that until this very moment, but she found it hard to dislike anything about the girl sitting across from her.

Yang forced herself to reach for the menu, snapping out of her trance. “Yeah, I like how dark it is, it seems more... y’know-“

“Private?”

“That’s the word!” She grinned and slid a menu across the table to the raven haired girl. Blake took hold of the menu, her thumb flipping it open and scanning it with her eyes. Yang had to laugh, she was reading a menu as if it was a novel. “Everything’s numbered?” Blake asked, her brows furrowing as she looked between dishes on the menu. “Yeah, I guess it’s easier for them to put the orders through or something.” Blake nodded, accepting the explanation. “The way it works here is that you go up and tell them your order and pay up front at the desk, so whenever you’re ready just tell me.”

“You work here too?”

“Ha- _ha_ ,” Yang fondly rolled her eyes as she let out her sarcastic laugh. Blake smiled and somehow spun the menu within her fingers, her index finger tapping on one of the large pictures that were scattered across the page. “Is this a good choice?” She asked and it felt like a switch turned on inside Yang’s brain. “Funny, that’s what I’m getting too,” she quipped “not what I expected you to get though.” The item in question was a sandwich, simple enough with it more or less just being chargrilled chicken, lettuce and avocado. But not what she would’ve thought.

“I love avocado-“ _she likes how buttery it is_ “I like how buttery it is.”

Yang had to blink a few times and grab at her own wrist, making sure she was still in reality. How had she just had that thought, clearly something she shouldn’t have known prior as... well, avocados weren’t exactly a topic of conversation. Or maybe she was just tricking herself, and it was all down to her own opinion on said food.

“I’ve never really been that into avocado, but I like it when it’s with other food,” Yang said, trying to play off whatever thought she had just had. She smiled and took the menu from Blake’s hand, spinning it in her hand, trying to replicate the cool move Blake had pulled earlier. Alas, her fingers weren’t as dexterous, the menu dropped into her lap.

Blake laughed, quiet and amused, digging through her jacket pocket for the lien that she had brought with her. Yang snorted, “Bold of you to assume you’re paying,” she said, sliding out of the booth, menu in hand to return it to the desk. Blake rolled her eyes and settled on the idea that she’d sneakily pay for the cinema tickets. Yang smiled, thinking she’d won, and walked away.

The faunus girl let out a small sigh, pulling out her phone to fill the short time that Yang would be gone. It was nice- not the Yang being gone part, but the whole date. They both liked dimly lit places and privacy, which led them to this dimly lit restaurant and would later lead to a pitch black theatre. It wasn’t planned either, this just so happened to be a place Yang liked, and now, so did Blake. Her phone buzzed in her hand. 

**Velvet:** how’s ur date?

**Blake:** so far so good, we’ve barely been here twenty minutes though

**Velvet:** yeah well coco burnt dinner so now we’re ordering takeout 

**Blake:** it could be worse she could’ve cooked something amazing and never stopped bragging about it 

**Velvet:** that’s so true but go enjoy the rest of ur date 

**Blake:** I plan to

She swiped off the app and closed off her phone, shutting down with a soft click. Luckily texting Velvet had took up just enough time for Yang to order and come back with drinks, sliding them across the table, wincing when she thought she applied a little too much pressure. Blake let out a small thank you, instantly wrapping her lips around the straw that hung in front of her. 

“I forgot to ask but what movie are we going to see after this?” Yang asked, letting out a huff as she sat down on the seat, hissing as she leaned forward onto the table. “Brunswick Farms-“

“Totally you’re type of movie, romance and horror.”

“It seems good- also are you hurt?” Blake asked, not bothering to mask her worry and letting her brows furrow for a brief moment. The corner of Yang’s mouth twitched, one cheek tensing. Maybe she just realised that nothing really slips past Blake. “A little sore from work earlier, but I’ll be fine, nothing I can’t handle,” she smiled, bright and broad like always. Something about that smile made Blake believe she could be blinded by how bright it was.

“Do you ever work on your bike at Maria’s?”

Yang looked so happy to talk about her bike, that Blake made a mental note to indulge her whenever the topic was brought up.

“Yeah, sometimes. Mostly just fixing up the paint job or replacing a tyre- maybe a busted exhaust, it’s always more fun working on bike’s than it is cars-“ Blake wasn’t really taking in what she was saying, she just adored the way Yang gushed about her work. The way she spoke about each detail was cute, which was a word Blake _never_ thought she’d associate with working on chunks of metal. The way she spoke of everything like it wasn’t just a job, some quick cash, like she genuinely cared for each car, bike and client that came in. She loved that about her, that passion, like the root of a vibrant flower, it stretched out and settled on Blake’s skin, giving her goosebumps.

Their food came, but that didn’t stop the flow of knowledge that flooded from Yang, talk of how cool she feels installing fresh tyres and how, _still to this day_ , she’s managed to convince Cardin that blinker fluid is a real thing.

“Wait- I’m rambling! Sorry!-“

“Don’t apologise,” Blake laughed, her finger skimming over the edge of her glass, “You really like working there don’t you?” Yang tongued her right cheek, withholding whatever smile that was threatening to break through. “Apart from football, it’s really the only real thing I can do- that I can see myself doing.”

“I think you should go for it, if it’s really what you want.”

“All I want is you,” Yang winked and Blake choked on her sandwich. Coughing and laughing at her own expense as she turned away to face the window. After so long listening to Yang rant, she had forgotten about how easily flirtatious she was. And how easy Blake was to fluster. Yang laughed as she took a bite out of her sandwich, loud and melodic.

“Are you okay?” Blake nodded, pursing her lips and letting airy laughs escape through her nostrils. Yang laughed in return. Blake let the sound seep in, enjoying each second of it. “What are you thinking of doing as a career, I bet it’s something crazy cool- an author would suit you.”

“I don’t know, I’d love to, but it’s kind of a big risk if I don’t have anything to fall back on so probably not.” Yang looked shocked, her eyes narrowing and her gaze unreadable. “If I’m chasing my dream you better be chasing yours too Belladonna,” she pouted, munching on the last of her sandwich.

“Your dream is attainable.”

“So is yours, you’re gorgeous, smart and talented.”

Blake’s heart skipped a beat and she stopped in the middle of her thoughts. In fact the whole world stopped. How could she say something like that so casually, like it just slipped out. “You think so?” Blake said, her voice teasing, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. Yang blushed and scratched the back of her neck. Blake won. “That wasn’t fair,” Yang giggled, sliding out of the booth, sensing that they were done here.

Blake smiled and shrugged, sliding out of the booth, her hand easily finding it’s way into Yang’s, weaving their fingers together like it had always been that way. “You saying something like that wasn’t fair either.” Yang chuckled and pressed a kiss to her temple, smiling against it. Blake noticed her linger for a second longer than she had to, she raised an eyebrow at her when she pulled back.

Yang blushed again and turned away “S-Sorry, you just smell really good,” her throat bobbed as she gulped. The faunus girl laughed and blushed as well, little comments like that always threw her off, even the little things mattered. “Maybe I was wrong about you,” she said as they got to the bike, Yang climbing on first.

“Maybe you’re some sort of weird serial killer with an obsession with hair and I just got it all wrong.” Yang laughed and rolled her eyes, bracing herself on the handlebars of her bike. “I think I’ll let you decide if I’m some sort of crazy asshole by the end of tonight,” the blonde beamed. Blake smiled and climbed on behind her, loving the feeling of being where she was.

Maybe it was a little superficial of her to think that, even if Yang wasn’t a great person, she would still love riding on the back of her bike. Blake would be the first to admit, her girlfriend was _hot_ , and being pressed up against her, the power of a motorcycle speeding underneath her, it could be a little hard to not get distracted by it. Even the thought of it set off alarm bells in her mind.

Yang acted up a little, _just a little_ , speeding round a corner then skidding to a stop in a parking space. Blake had to catch her breath before getting off the bike, shaking from adrenaline. Which was kind of embarrassing seeing as the blonde had only sped up a little to impress her. It worked. What also worked was her buying the tickets, which Yang made sure to grumble about as they walked through the corridor. She was proud of herself though, she didn’t give in when Yang used those puppy dog eyes that would normally work.

They sat in a dark corner of the theatre, one of Yang’s arms idly wrapped around Blake’s shoulders as they watched through the start of the movie. As Yang predicted, she wasn’t all that interested in the movie. She was all for romance and horror, as separate genres, but when they were mixed together it was messy. She didn’t want to be rude and pull her scroll out, so she persisted, watched the movie, stayed strong for Blake.

It was when she heard Blake mutter, “ _for fuck sake,_ ” under her breath, that she had to bite her lip to contain her laughter. “Not what you expected?” Yang asked, still trying to contain her laughter. Blake shook her head and Yang could see the hint of a scowl on her face, her ears pinned back in annoyance. “It’s total bullshit, why say your movie’s based on the book when you’re using none of the source material!”

“It’s that bad?”

“It’s literally just the same characters and concept, but they’ve switched out all of the key character moments for plot twists.” Yang nodded understanding what she was getting at. “So it’s like, the book focuses more on character development, but this movie’s trying to make it all about the farms history?”

“Yeah basically- it’s such a good book,” she pointed to the screen, “this boring shit doesn’t do it justice.”

Yang glanced around, seeing there was basically no one around them, not for a few rows anyway. She grinned and tilted her head towards Blake, her face inches away from Blake’s cheeks. “Yeah well, we chose these seats for when the movie gets boring right?” She rasped, her lips brushing over Blake’s jawline as she dipped lower.

The raven haired girl giggled and twisted towards Yang, her hand cupping her cheek and stopping her from dipping any lower. The movie was instantly forgotten as soon as Yang’s lips were on hers, the blondes hand landing around Blake’s neck, her thumb tracing the length of her throat. Blake’s own hands had ran through Yang’s hair, golden strands hanging loosely through her fingers.

Her heart rate picked up when Yang leaned in a little too much, bit down on her lip a little too hard, it felt amazing, knowing that anyone could look over and see. She could imagine the reaction if anyone had the gall to call them out, could imagine how Yang would growl at them, possessive hands tugging Blake closer, the attention only spurring her on.

It was a fun little thought.

They pulled away from each other, Blake settling herself on Yang’s shoulder, tucked under her arm. The last of the movie was shit, not just ‘oh this was disappointing’ but actual bullshit. The movie spewed nonsense like one of professor Port’s stories. They both let out a sigh of a relief when the lights clicked on, both of them leaning away from each other and stretching their limbs as if they had sat there enthralled by the movie for the two hour runtime.

Leaving the theatre, Blake realised something as she hung off of Yang’s arm, staring out the window as they went down in the elevator. “What’s up?” Yang asked, catching on to the disappointed look that washed across Blake’s face. “I’m just kind of sad it’s over.” She realised she shouldn’t have said that as soon as Yang’s grin broadened. She had just fuelled her ego hadn’t she?

“Aww, babe,” she cooed “missing me already?” The faunus rolled her eye, slapping Yang on the shoulder “Shut up,” she murmured. The elevator dinged, the metal doors groaned as they opened, and they both stepped outside. The air outside the cinema was humid, no breeze or air. It felt constricting. They giggled and playfully swung their hands back and forth as they walked. Yang spun around, still holding Blake’s hand, smiling at her even as she walked backwards.

“I’ve still got something to ask you, if you remember,” Yang said. Blake made an ‘o’ shake with her move, placing her hand over it and raising her eyebrows in fake a incredulous reaction. “ _Yang Xiao-Long_ , are _you_ proposing?”

Yang matched the act she was putting on, tilting her head of the side and adding a playful lilt to her voice. “Yes, although I have no ring, only my proposal,” she said. Blake smiled and giggled, trying her best to play along. “Blake Belladonna, will you make me the happiest girl in senior year and be my girlfriend?”

“I thought I was already your girlfriend?” 

“Double title, more privileges, what do you say?” 

“I say yes, of course,” Blake grinned and stood on the tips of her toes, pecking at Yang’s lips, both of them giggling against one another. They both glanced over at the bike, considering their next move. This was supposed to be where Yang took Blake home, where they called it a night, but, Blake wasn’t ready to go home just yet. “Is one of my privileges that I get to spend just a little more time with you?”

Yang could only beam down at her in response. 

* * *

Yang drove them down to the port, where the view was best over the ocean, the moonlight shimmering over the waves. It was quiet for the most part, the only sounds coming from the water lapping against the concrete below them. 

Blake sat between Yang’s legs, her head lolling back and resting against the blondes chest, tucked under her chin. She had grown to like how the other girls cat ears twitched at each sound, barely audible for Yang but Blake could hear it all. She dropped a kiss, barely there, in between her ears. They twitched back, tickling her jaw. It was cute. She loved it.

“This is nice...” Blake whispered, and Yang agreed. It was _nice_. Tonight, in every sense of the word, had been _nice_. She didn’t have Blake’s range of vocabulary to describe it further, but she could feel her rib cage expand with each passing second, her heart fill with something she had never felt before. But it all felt so familiar, which should’ve been impossible, but somehow... it wasn’t.

She didn’t know Blake was thinking the same thing; Blake didn’t know Yang was having this same thought.

Blake twisted in her arms, untucking her head from under Yang’s chin. She loosely rested her arms over Yang’s shoulders, and she smiled- she smiled! Like she knew, like she understood. And that’s everything Blake’s ever wanted, for someone to understand. She didn’t even know what she wanted them to understand, just something more, something deeper than ‘oh we have something in common.’ That smile made her think all of her doubts were for no reason, just thoughts that now evaded her. 

She smiled and rested their foreheads together, poking her tongue out, licking her suddenly dry lips, her body shuddering with an awkward laugh. ‘ _I love you,_ ’ she thought, at the back of her mind. It didn’t catch her off guard, she already knew that’s how she felt. ‘ _I’m in love with you,_ ’ she thought, it was jarring, like nothing Blake had felt before for someone. She certainly knew she never felt that way about Adam-

Adam.

She pulled back, balancing herself with her hands on Yang’s shoulders, she looked around. They were at the port, sitting in front of rows of warehouses. Sun had told her something about warehouses and Adam, the details were fuzzy, she was too caught in the moment. She couldn’t believe she just realised this.

Blake shot up, Yang doing the same with a concerned expression, thinking she had done something wrong. “ _Sorry_ , it’s just, Sun told me something about Adam having something set up here in these warehouses-“

“So you want to check it out?”

“Yeah...” she realised how odd that might sound, telling her girlfriend if she could check out what her crazy ex-boyfriend was doing. “Well then what’re we waiting for?” Yang said, and Blake was instantly relieved.

They snuck around to the side of one of the warehouses, hearing voices and shouting as they approached. Blake spotted a window on the side and Yang, straight away, offered to hold her up on her shoulders. So she did. She peeked through the open window, trying her best to stay hidden. Adam stood in the centre of the room, next to a ginger haired man with a bowl hat, the two of them barking orders left and right. Blake struggled to pull out her phone, scrambling to take photos and videos.

Because there was a _shit ton_ of dust everywhere, carefully packed into wooden crates that lay open. It was so incriminating that it was insane it was real.

She texted it all to Sun, hoping it would all be enough, that final push.

Yang took her home, kissed her goodnight, once or twice- _maybe_ three or four times. They would’ve probably continued if Blake’s mom hadn’t come to the window.

**Velvet:** so how was the date?

**Blake:** amazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got super into writing this, I have a set plan now for things and I’m super into the story, dedicated to writing. Let’s just say I have a lot of feelings about bumbleby and I also just finished watching bojack so I’m in deep thought mode.


	12. Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang goes to meet Raven for the first time.

“Fuck!”

“Coco, I told you the bulb was hot!”

Velvet rushed over, turning off the light, snatching Coco’s wrist and inspecting her hand for any signs of injury. Coco smirked. Blake guessed that she hadn’t actually hurt herself, she just wanted Velvet’s attention, and trying to pry Velvet away from her photography was like trying to take away a dogs toy.

Blake didn’t actually know how she ended up here. First thing she was waking up, bombarded with questions from her mother about her date, the next thing she knew she had a text from Velvet, desperate to escape her house for a while, here she was, in Velvet’s house. Or well, _shed_. Velvet had a shed in her back garden, built by herself and her brothers so she could have her own photography space. It was cool, plenty of equipment for the job.

“Yeah, you said the bulb was hot, not that it would burn me,” Coco said, her smile oozing cockiness and charm. “You call Velvet hot and she burns you all the time,” Blake snarked, fiddling with the camera lens she had been instructed to hold for the moment. The two girls looked over at her and said, “ _Nice one!_ ” in unison. Blake smiled. She was growing used to all of this. Her friends, her girlfriend, her new life. It was perfect for her.

“Blake, ever considered being a model?”

“Never, why?”

“Me and V could always use models for our shoots, I think you’d fit the vibe,” Coco said, looking over at Velvet for her approval. The rabbit faunus nodded, still somehow listening to what Coco was saying whilst she cleaned one of her many camera lenses. “If your up for it, it’s always nice to have a model who isn’t Coco,” she shot a glance over at her girlfriend, who grinned knowingly “A model who knows how to _behave_.”

“I ripped one of her old backdrops once and she’s never forgot about it,” the brunette explained. Blake nodded, silently sympathising with Velvet. She could see the two of them loved each other, their passions going hand in hand, fashion and photography mixing like paint, creating something gorgeous, fun and new. But, it was undeniable that Coco, for as nice as she was, could be a pain in the ass, with her constant snark and refusal to listen. She could see how it could get annoying at times.

“I’m always up for helping out if you need it,” Blake laughed and scanned over the rack of clothes that sat alongside a spare lamp. She tentatively grabbed one of the dress shirts, examining it. She found out upon arriving that Coco had designed all of these herself, buying her own materials and putting it all together. From the lining, to the zips, to the buttons, Coco made it all from scratch. It was impressive.

“I think it’d be fun if Coco picked out outfits and we all just had a fun night, take some pictures.”

“You just want the insta clout V-“

“Yeah, and having a bunch of hot teenagers in awesome outfits can get me that clout,” Velvet said, one of her eyebrows flicking up. Coco smiled and rolled her eyes. “How was your date by the way, you didn’t really say much about it other than it was good,” Velvet said, clapping her hands in satisfaction once she got the lightbulb screwed into her lamp.

“Dinner was cool, the movie was _bullshit_ and then we hung out at the port, not much to say.” Blake knew she had a coy smile on her face, but there were a lot of... deep emotions she felt at the port, that she had barely processed. She also didn’t want to say ‘yeah Yang held me on her shoulders whilst I took pictures of my ex-boyfriend, then we had to book it out of there.’

Blake could see the glint in Coco’s eyes even behind her sunglasses, the brunette smirked at her. “Row S, seat twenty-three?” She asked, smirk remaining. Blake smiled sheepishly and furrowed her brow, she didn’t understand. “ _She didn’t..._ ” Coco said in disbelief. Blake nodded “That was one of the seats we sat in, yeah...” clearly there was some joke here that she wasn’t privy to.

Coco bellowed and excused herself, walking out of the shed, tapping away on her phone. Blake tilted her head and arched a brow at Velvet, one of her ears flopping backwards. “Am I missing something?” She asked. Velvet sighed and nodded. “Last year Weiss went on a date with this girl called Emerald, _total bitch_ , and this girl offered to go down on Weiss in the cinema.”

“I’m really not surprised,” she said amusedly, but she knew Velvet caught the tiny hint of disappointment in her tone. She thought Yang had solely got those seats for the two of them, not just because of an inside joke. Maybe she had chose it for both reasons. She settled on that thought. Velvet walked over, taking the lens out of Blake’s hands and placing it back in its case. They both glanced out the window to Coco, who was on the phone pacing back and forth. “Was it romantic?”

“Kind of.” Blake shrugged. Velvet rolled her eyes and swirled her hand, gesturing for her to continue. Blake laughed nervously, she supposed she wasn’t getting out of this. “She asked me to be her girlfriend again, she thought that asking me at Coco’s party didn’t count because we were both hammered.”

“That was cute of her.”

“Yeah, then we were out at the port and...” she smiled softly, she wanted to say what she wanted, just let her heart spill out, but then she saw the mask of concern on Velvet’s face. Blake decided against it. “I think I heard Sun say something about your ex working down at the port- _sorry_!” Velvet buried her face in her hands, her cheeks stained red for snitching on herself. “ _Sorry_ , I kind of eavesdropped on your conversation.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Blake laughed, she didn’t mind really, the whole situation at the port had happened so fast she really didn’t have time to do anything other than text what she saw to Sun and hope for the best. “Let’s just say Adam - _my ex_ \- is doing some pretty shady stuff and Sun’s looking into it.”

“Ugh, him and Neptune with their junior detective bullshit.”

“Yeah, how the hell did they get those jobs?”

“Neptune’s dad is the captain of the station they work at, he got them the jobs.” Blake was a little shocked, she didn’t know Neptune all that well, but she didn’t expect his dad to be a police captain. “Can I ask you something?” Velvet asked hesitantly. Blake nodded. “Why’d you break up with Adam?”

There was a lot of things Blake wanted to say. She could say he was a creep, controlling, manipulative, an overall asshole really. “I’d say he was abusive, and I needed an excuse to get away from him. Beacon, Yang and you guys just so happened to be that perfect excuse.”

“Does Yang know?”

“Some stuff, not all of it, I’ll get around to telling her though, I really lo-like her though.”

“Nice catch, row S, seat twenty-three _really_ threw you off last night-“

“ _Oh, shut up!_ ” 

* * *

Blake left a half hour later, deciding that watching Coco and Velvet making eyes at each other was her cue to leave. Plus, as much as she liked hanging around with them, there were only so many questions she could ask about their hobbies and only so many times she could think that they were good for each other.  
  


**Ilia:** so u really like this girl then? 

**Blake:** this is like the 5th time you’ve asked me that, and the 5th time I’ve replied, yes

**Ilia:** and ur sure ur not moving too fast?

**Blake:** I’m pretty sure yes, plus I don’t think yang knows what slow means 

**Ilia:** when this blows up in ur face I’m gonna say ‘I told u so’ 

**Blake:** it won’t 

She looked up from her phone, the wires on her earphones swung as her head whipped up. Unlike the last time she had walked across this street going to school, there was no unnerving feeling, no stalking. Maybe he was finally gone and she could walk to school again. Then again, one of her faunus ears swivelled to the side, maybe she shouldn’t trust that dream of having a normal day. 

“Is that you darling?” His voice called out, smooth and laced with poison. 

**Blake:** yang call me

She knew her girlfriend would call as soon as she saw the text, but in the mean time she steeled herself and turned to the side, getting ready to deal with whatever she was about to be smacked with. She was met with Adam, dressed rather well in his tailored suit. ‘ _Odd,_ ’ she thought. Then next to him was the man she had seen the night before, ginger hair, bowl hat, white suit, entering her field of vision from a cloud of smoke that puffed from his cigar. 

“I can’t really stop and talk,” Blake said, already dismissing whatever he had waiting on his tongue. He frowned. “I’m _hurt_ Blake, here I was about to invite you to the rally tomorrow night, show you what you’re missing,” Adam had the audacity to smile, like it was a chat between two friends. The other many narrowed his eyes at her then at Adam. “Since when do you associate with humans? I thought you hated them,” Blake spat, she couldn’t hold it in. She wasn’t a fan of hypocrisy. 

“Some are the exception to the rule,” he snarled. “Why don’t you come with me? Find out _why_ I feel that way?”

“I’d rather not.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“I just wouldn’t.”

He clearly didn’t like that answer. His hand shot forward in the blink of an eye, a growl evident in his features, darkened and terrifying. She understood that look. Of anger. Anger over something he couldn’t have. His wrist was grabbed by the other man, who’s eyes remained narrowed. He didn’t look impressed. “Let’s not get too hasty now Taurus,” he said. Adam didn’t like that. He never liked getting told what to do. He was usually the one in control.

Blake’s phone rang right on time, a picture of Yang tugging her close, both of them laughing at the camera. She answered and walked away, grateful for the escape. Her heart was pounding. What would he have done if he would have grabbed her? Why was she being so bold when she knew it was a risk? _Seriously_ , all she was doing was annoying him.

“Are you alright?” Yang said quickly, very voice coming sharp through her earphones, pulling her out of her thoughts. Blake let out a sigh of relief, crossing the road and not looking back. “Yeah, I just saw Adam and you were my way out-“

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No, no, I’m fine, thanks though, what’re you doing anyway?”

“I’m supposed to go meet Raven soon for dinner, but right now I’m just chilling.” Blake smiled to herself, there was something sweet about how comfortable it felt talking to each other, it was a casual routine, one that she enjoyed having in her day to day life. “Velvet let me in on the seat twenty-three joke,” she said dryly. Yang laughed.

“Babe, you have _no_ idea how funny it was when that happened to Weiss- her face when she was telling us about it? _Priceless_ ,” her laughs dyed down “but... y’know.” There was a shyness in her voice that made Blake giggle. “You just wanted to make out at the back of the cinema didn’t you?” Yang let out an awkward chuckle. 

“Do you know Qrow calls it necking?”

“How did this come up?” Blake laughed, swiftly turning a corner and looking behind her. At least she wasn’t being followed. “Ruby and Weiss were downstairs then the next thing I heard was ‘ _girls, stop necking on the sofa,’_ ” they both laughed. “Are you nervous about going to meet your mom?” 

“Kind of,” there’s hesitation in her voice, waiting, thinking about something. Blake was on the edge of her seat. “Do you want to hang out afterwards? I’ll tell you how it went?” 

“Yes!” She beamed, realised she sounded a little too excited “Y-Yeah, we can do that.” 

* * *

Yang lay on her bed, light spilling in through the blinds, making the gold of her hair glitter. There was something serene about the whole scene, the gentle thrum of the music in her room whilst she lay there, her body relaxed, texting her friends. It was the modern day version of serenity.

**Pyrrha:** does anybody know where Nora is?

**Coco:** just listen for the sound of smfn smashing, she’ll be there 

**Ren:** she’s not wrong, Nora tried to out drink her cousin, lost, then threw a bottle of beer at the window

**Yang:** is she still alive?

**Ren:** extremely hungover but alive 

**Pyrrha:** how r we just hearing about this? 

**Ren:** for a start u were at Jaune’s yesterday 

**Blake:** ooooooo caught

**Coco:** hope u used protection Nikos 

**Jaune:** we did we had bike helmets 

**Blake:** god bless you

It was so comfortable, so laughably normal. Yet Yang was still reminded, that it wasn’t. Deep in the back of her mind, there were things that stuck to that back wall, waiting, biding their time. She could feel it. But for now, it had been a great weekend. She pushed herself up off of the bed, pulling open one of her drawers.

Her hips swayed to the music in the background, digging through her clothes. She slung an orange long sleeved shirt on, black jeans being pulled on as she stumbled backwards. The flames on her vans matched her shirt, and she thought, for a moment, that Coco would be proud. ‘ _Maybe Blake would like the outfit,_ ’ she thought idly, dancing around as she tied her shoelaces, scrambling for her phone.

She always thought it was funny that she couldn’t get dressed without falling about the place, for no other reason than she enjoyed the feeling of rushing, feeling like there was somewhere she needed to be, someone who needs to see her, it made Yang feel important.

The bedroom door swung open in the middle of her air-guitar solo, which would’ve been extremely embarrassing if it hadn’t been Ruby that had come in. Of course, Ruby joined in with her, recognising the guitar riff of a Vista’s song, the two of them dancing, one foot in front of the other, hands strumming chords that would never come. It was fun. A light vibe that she had found recently, removed from the heaviness of thinking she might screw it all up, that she might choke at that important breaking point. However Yang felt fine, nothing could be better.

The song ended, she paused the next song on her phone. “What’d you come in for?” Yang asked, in the middle of tying her hair back into a ponytail. “Dad said he wanted to see you,” Ruby said, reaching over to snatch one of the biscuits that were resting on Yang’s bedside table. The blonde chuckled and rolled her eyes, her sister never changed, always a sucker for sweets. She grabbed her signature jacket from her desk chair, black with yellow details, the letters ‘YXL’ stitched into the front. She remembered insisting it looked cooler than just ‘Y’. She was right.

Skipping down the stairs, she grabbed her keys from the hook next to the front door. She was ready. Ready to discover who this mother of hers was. Ready to find out what that would mean moving forward.

“Yang,” Qrow’s hoarse voice called out, “C’mere.”

The blonde slid into the living room, stopping just short of the sofa. Tai and Qrow were sitting next to each other, Tai’s hands clasped together and held his chin up. Whilst Qrow looked as casual as ever, leaning back against the sofa cushions. “What is it?” Yang asked, she could tell that it was nothing good by the looks of it. “So you know where you’re going to meet Raven?” Tai asked. Yang nodded. “Yeah, the diner we always pass by.”

“And you know the meeting time?”

“Yup, seven o’ clock, just like you said...” Yang inspected his features, darkened and calculating, she wasn’t used to that from her dad. “You don’t think I can handle this,” she said breathily, in disbelief that he didn’t trust her. Tai shook his head “No, that’s not it.” She laughed bitterly. Of course this had to happen. Today. On this weekend. “It’s just that, maybe it’d be a little more comfortable if me or Qrow were there, y’know?”

“ _No_ , because you’d both be breathing down my neck the whole time,” Yang huffed, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing in all honesty. “I told you Tai, have faith-“

“But Qrow-“

“It’s his sister, let him be in the conversation... the _conversation_ about whether or not _I_ can do something.” She couldn’t stand this cycle if hypocrisy that encircled her family. They were always down for the idea of something, making you think and believe, but when it came down to it, nothing ever happened. They would never let Yang make that leap. But she wanted to jump. Just once.

“ _Please, just_...” she struggled to find the right words to convey how she just wanted him to let her go, that it would be fine. “I’ll call if something happens.” That was the ticket. Tai looked up and nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer. Qrow stuck his thumb up, giving his own sign of approval. “You’ll call when you meet with her?” Tai asked, his hands muffling his mouth. 

“Yeah, of course.”

“And you’ll call when it’s over?”

“ _Dad_ , this isn’t my first time meeting up with someone,” she laughed, leaning against the doorframe. She tried to seem light and breezy, so he wouldn’t worry. It worked when he ran a hand through his hair and smiled shakily. “Alright... we’ll hear from you later then.” 

“Or not, she might hop off with her little girlfriend.”

“ _Okay_ , I’m leaving now.” 

* * *

The diner looked fancier than Yang had anticipated. A corner restaurant, the windows tinted red, contrasting with the dark wooden walls. She parked her bike on the sidewalk, praying that she wouldn’t get a ticket for where she had parked. Yang immediately recognised Raven standing in front of the door. A leather jacket clinging to her along with her jeans and sunglasses hiding her eyes. She looked like someone who didn’t even have a daughter. Too young. Too cool. 

Maybe that was why she left in the first place. 

Raven looked her way, waved, then waited for Yang to make the next move. Which was obviously to walk towards her. Yang walked over, with a polite ‘ _hey_ ’ spilling from her lips before she could process she was greeting Raven. The dark haired woman pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and looked past Yang. “That your bike?” She asked. Yang nodded and grinned, “Yeah, I’ve been driving it for a while now.” 

Raven let out a low whistle. “It’s a beauty,” she held her arm out, pulling open the door in one swift motion. “Shall we?” Yang smiled and walked ahead, her mother closely following behind. 

They sat down at an empty table towards the centre of the room, Yang fiddling with the phone in her lap, texting her dad that she had met up with Raven. She saw the rapid texts coming from Tai but chose to ignore them. She’d deal with that later.

“That your girlfriend?” Raven asked, not bothering to hide the smirk on her face. Yang shook her head, “Nah, it’s my dad, just making sure I got here okay,” she said. Raven nodded, swiping the sunglasses of for her head and resting them on the table, her hands casually waving out her bangs. Yang was honestly shocked at how similar their hair looked, if it weren’t for the huge colour difference someone might be able to tell they were related.

“I don’t know how, but I always knew that you’d be...”

“Gay?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to offend you by hitting out with that,” Raven said bluntly, “What’s your girlfriend like then?”

“Her name’s Blake and she’s cool... super smart, gorgeous, could listen to her talk for days.”

“You sound smitten with the kitten,” Raven grinned, satisfied with her own joke. “Well aren’t you controversial, dating another girl _and_ a faunus at that.”

Yang chuckled lowly, it was true, even in the world of today it was all still _a little_ _taboo_ to some people. If she were a celebrity she would definitely have a death threat or two by now. “I guess I am,” she chuckled and placed her phone down on the table, she watched Raven catch a glance of her lock screen before the screen flicked off.

It was a cute photo from Coco’s party. Blake tucked into her side smiling into the cup held at her lips. Velvet beside her wearing Coco’s sunglasses and making finger guns at the camera, her girlfriend laughing. Pyrrha holding Jaune upright in the background whilst also trying to stop Nora from grabbing onto Ren’s hair. The funniest part was seeing Weiss, the ice queen, laughing whilst Ruby looked down at the floor, livid at something.

“You party a lot?” Raven asked.

“When there is one I’ll go to it, why? You’re not gonna give me a lecture on drunk driving are you?”

“No, I’ve done my fair share of that too.”

“The partying or the drunk driving?” Yang asked, and Raven winked and gave her a look that said ‘ _both_ ’. Which was... _mildly alarming_. Maybe this is where she got all of her impulsive genes from. Raven fiddled with the tiny hand print of a menu, her eyes raking across the paper. Yang knew that look. It was the look Weiss would give her after she’d given a half assed excuse; she was thinking up a way to continue the conversation, but nothing came to mind.

The waitress came, took their orders, walked away, and left them in silence. It was tense. There were so many things she wanted to ask. _Where have you been? What’ve you been doing? What made you leave my dad?_

‘ _What made you leave at all? Was it me?_ ’

“ _So_... what made you decide you wanted to know your daughter seventeen years later?” Yang said, the snark thick in her tone. This was the only question she could think of that wouldn’t hurt either of them. The easy way out, she imagined. “I was in town, back from Mistral for a while, bumped into Tai and saw an opportunity,” she said it all so casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal, a catch-up between old friends. Yang swore she felt something burn inside her. Something in Raven’s voice lit a match. Her blood boiled, her skin itched and the only thing that gave that feeling away was the small twitch of her nose.

“So,” and just as casually as she had referred to meeting her daughter for the first time, she moved on “What’s school like? Tai said you’re the football captain.”

The blonde had to bite her lip, taking a moment between the waitress placing drinks down onto their table and leaving again before she was able to speak without yelling. “Yeah, I’ve been captain since last year, my dad got me into it when I was a kid- worked out well for scholarships I guess.”

“And is the cool jacket you’re wearing the captain’s jacket or something?”

“No, my dad just got me this as a gift,” she smiled and pinched at the collar. She remembers getting the jacket, how happy she was to be wearing it. Then Blake had wore it and that had somehow made the jacket all that more special. “My dad said you’re in Vale for work.”

“Kind of, not really,” she shrugged.

‘ _Is there no such thing as a straight answer from this woman?_ ’ Yang grumbled internally. It felt like she was getting nowhere, just frustrating herself. But at the same time, she had this cool vibe, something that made her want to know more. “So you’re a straight A’s, golden girl, no mischief?”

“No, my friend Coco’s the one that’s always up to something.”

“Sounds fun, tell me more,” There was a dangerous glint in her eye. The food came, interrupting them for a brief moment. Yang took those few moments to recollect. Talking about Coco was always fun, because she had definitely grown since they were young. ‘ _From being Hugh Hefner, to monogamy with one of his bunnies,_ ’ as Sun had put it, earning him a glare from Velvet and a burst lip from Coco.

“She’s always been popular, good looking, amazing fashion sense- she designs her own clothes by the way.” Raven nodded, showing that she was still listening as she cut into her steak. “But when we first started high school, she was still popular, ended up screwing around with a ton of girls- she always told them she didn’t _do_ emotions. She did eventually when she got an actual girlfriend, our friend Velvet, so she’s more... emotionally stable.”

Raven raised an eyebrow at her.

“No, you’re right, I’m still convinced she needs anger management sometimes,” she cleared her throat, feeling a little awkward now that she’d went on a tangent. Yang bit into her burger, looking over at Raven who was chewing thoughtfully, trying to gauge her reaction. Raven swallowed. “I think she had the right idea, not wearing her heart on her sleeve, like you so obviously do,” she said, bordering on a growl. It took Yang aback for a second, she didn’t know what she was expecting but certainly not that.

“What makes you think that?” Yang asked, gulping. She had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be the easiest conversation to have. “How long have you known your girlfriend?”

“I don’t know... a few weeks?” That sounded _awful_ now she was saying it out loud.

“I thought so, yet you seem like you’re about to get down on one knee for her.” Raven said snidely and flicked her eyebrow. Those words were all it took for Yang to second guess herself. She had already spoke with Weiss and felt better about everything, felt like she wasn’t speeding headfirst into something that would hurt her. Maybe she was right not to trust her own emotions. Maybe she was right to keep them to herself, distanced in a way. “You know I’m not saying this to hurt you right?” Raven said, taking on a motherly tone for the first time. That tone solidified Yang’s doubts.

“Yeah... _yeah I know_... thanks.” She took another bite out of her burger, which would mean that she didn’t have to talk. Raven muttered a curse under her breath as her phone buzzed, she grabbed it off of the table, flipping it over. She groaned and leaned back in her chair. “Sorry Yang, I’ve got to go soon,” she said, wincing, “Should we swap numbers? We can text later on?”

Yang nodded furiously, any attempt at a reconnection was something she wanted, something she had always wanted. She unlocked her phone, sliding it across the table, Raven inputting the number as she waved over their waitress, asking for the bill. As Yang watched Raven slapping lien down onto the table, whilst texting on her phone, she realised something. This woman might be more impulsive and abrupt than Yang could ever be.

For a start, Raven decided to meet her daughter (keep that in mind because Yang isn’t forgetting it) on impulse, and, she has ended said meeting just as abruptly.

Raven walked her out, having the courtesy to say goodbye before she slid her sunglasses over her eyes, slipping into her car. Yang sat atop her motorcycle, dumbfounded, at the whole meeting really. So to recount, she met her mother; her mother then decided to give her ‘ _advice_ ’, if you could even call it that, then decided she’s just going to leave right after that. She dialled Tai’s phone number on impulse, wiping her face with her hand to try and dispel whatever emotions were boiling up. 

“Hey, how’d it go?”

“Great,” that was a lie “I don’t know what you guys were so worried about.” 

* * *

Blake sat on her bed, waiting for a call or a text from Yang, anything that would say ‘ _hey, everything went great, wanna hang out?_ ’ Because that’s what she was expecting, something light, fun and breezy, like Yang so often was. 

**Yang:** hey, u wanna go out?

**Blake:** yeah, want me to meet you?

**Yang:** it’s fine, I’ll pick u up soon 

Two dry texts is not what she was expecting. It was a great contrast to the night before, when they were both still talking to each other long after their date had ended. Conversations about everything and nothing, they could just speak. Say anything to each other. Blake liked that.

She sat by her window, waiting for that familiar sound of the bike’s engine, revving then stopping, sometimes still purring as it sat idle, waiting for Blake. She spun her phone in her hand, being careful not to drop it. Maybe Yang had been in a rush, quick texts, no meaning behind them. Maybe the meeting with her mom hadn’t gone as well as anticipated. And maybe it’s _totally pathetic_ of her to be analysing a text message.

There was a low whistle that came from outside in the street. She looked out the window to see Yang standing on the sidewalk, looking up at her window, smiling. She smiled back and ran downstairs, hopping out of the door before her parents had a moment to question her.

“Hey beautiful~” Yang sang, winking at Blake.

“Where’s your bike?”

“I just... wanted to take a walk- sorry is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, don’t worry...” she trailed off as the two of them fell into step together, as naturally as it could be. Yang’s hands were tucked in her jacket pockets, which looked like that wasn’t changing, so instead of offering her hand she held out the crook of her arm. Blake smiled and looped her arm through, enjoying the closeness between them.

“You said you bumped into Adam earlier?” Blake’s skin crawled at the mention of his name. How much could change in a few weeks. “Yeah, nothing major it was just in the street, he was trying to get me to go to some rally down at the port,” she said, shrugging it off with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

“Why don’t we go down? I’ll kick his ass.”

“I genuinely can’t tell if you’re being serious or not,” Blake laughed and Yang barely cracked a smile, only a small chuckle escaping past her lips. “So what’ve you been doing all day, besides seeing Adam.” Blake vaguely caught on to the rapid responses, stopping her from asking a question without being rude. “Well, I don’t know if you remember, but I was at Velvet’s for a while.”

“Apart from that too smartass,” they both chuckled, Blake feeling a little swell of pride at making her laugh. “Oh, well then, literally nothing,” her fingers traced the creases in Yang’s jacket, “how did meeting your mom go?” There was a hesitation, Yang’s breath hitched, she hid it quickly, getting back on track.

“Normal.”

“ _Normal?_ ”

“Yeah just... a normal, average meeting,” the blonde sighed, a sadness hidden in her eyes that Blake hadn’t really saw before. “We spoke about football, why she was in town, our friends... _you_ ,” she shook her head, screwing her eyes shut for a moment, “It was... odd, she gave me her number though.”

“I’d imagine the first time meeting your mom would be weird, but it’s still progress, right?”

“Sure, I guess...” they trailed off into silence. There was clearly something she wasn’t saying, something she was keeping to herself. Blake just wanted her to speak to her. They stopped at a small brick wall in the park they had wandered into and ended up leaning against it. They still sat in silence, Blake’s eyes darting over to Yang, inspecting her features.

“Did... something happen?” Blake asked. Yang furrowed her brow, looking over at Blake with a clear sense of annoyance. “What makes you think that?”

“Because you’re growling- like you’re _actually_ growling at me right now,” she laughed bitterly. Yang sighed and ran her hand through her hair, letting out a huff, she dropped her hand back down to her side. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” she said quietly, almost as if she was muttering it to herself. Blake’s heart clenched. Seeing Yang, in clear distress, wasn’t something she liked. This feeling of wanting to fix whatever had happened, to take it away and replace it with something nicer, happier.

The raven haired girl lifted her hand up, gently cupping Yang’s jaw, her thumb tracing over her cheek. “ _Hey,_ ” she said as softly as she could, Yang tilted her head towards her “you know you can talk to me right?” The blonde studied her for a moment, her jaw set and her eyes flicking back and forth across Blake’s face, searching for something.

“ _Why?_ ” She spoke and Blake flinched.

What did she mean ‘ _why_?’ _Why not?_ Blake had to pause for a moment. She knew she shouldn’t be so shocked or so taken aback, she was in a bad mood or something, it’s normal- there was no point even thinking about it.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I don’t know, just... _why_?” Yang held a pained expression, that tugged on Blake’s heartstrings, threatening to snap anytime soon. Maybe she was too sensitive. She was definitely to sensitive because tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

“B-Because...” her heart thudded in her chest, beating one hundred miles a minutes, “Because... _I love you..._ ” her jaw trembled as the words tumbled out. She hadn’t meant to tell her; didn’t want to until later. But she really couldn’t think of a way out of this other than that, couldn’t think of any other valid reason. Her throat tightened and contracted, her stomach convulsing, as she watched Yang’s reaction. 

Yang’s mouth hung agape, her eyes wide in what seemed like horror. She shouldn’t have said it. It clearly wasn’t something she wanted to hear. The faunus was quick to peel her hand off of Yang’s cheek, opting to instead cover her own face. Her thumbs harshly dug into her skin, wiping any hint of a tear from her eyes, although the way her ears pinned back was a dead giveaway that she was upset. 

She had said too much; and Yang hadn’t said enough. 

Yang’s heart was racing, her mind running just as fast. She wanted so badly to say it back, to say anything back, to even just reach out and comfort her. But her body just... shutdown. Nothing worked, not even when she willed it to. Then when it looked like Blake had finally settled, wiping her face with her hand before looking up and staring ahead, the tension that had a hold over her loosened its grip.

“ _I’m sorry..._ ” Blake said quietly from behind the fist that was held up to her mouth. “Please, don’t apologise...” Yang said, her voice shaky and low. There was so much more she wanted to say, but it was all caught there in her throat, Raven’s words from earlier looping in her mind, scaring her into saying nothing at all.

“I...I-I’ll walk you home,” Yang murmured and she broke her own heart when she said it. _What the hell was she doing?_ Blake didn’t even object either! The two of them just stood up and started walking, an awkward atmosphere between them. She could tell Blake was heartbroken, but she had a look on her face that said she understood.

Yang shook her hand in her pocket, hyping herself up in her mind, attempting to say something back, anything back. Everything came to mind but nothing came out of her mouth. They slowed down once Blake’s house was in view. Yang because she needed to buy herself time and Blake because... well Yang had slowed down so she did as well.

Blake held onto her bicep, her arm crossing her abdomen, conveying how insecure she felt in the moment. Yang’s heart was breaking and it was her own fault. Her own inability to speak about emotions caused this. In a moment of sheer luck in the battle with her own mind, Yang reached forward, wrapping her arm around Blake’s waist and pulling her in. “I’m sorry...” she murmured into her hair, “I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Okay...” Blake’s voice was hoarse and raspy. Yang wanted to snap out of it, to say something, anything more than what she already had, but she couldn’t. She watched Blake go inside before she walked off herself, finally allowing herself a moment of reprieve once she knew she was alone, panicked cries followed by tears, her heart palpitating. 

**Blake:** it blew up in my face

**Ilia:** i’m sorry

**Blake:** it’s fine, it’s my fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me, just gonna dump this here, enjoyed writing it and now I’m hoping for the best.


	13. Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang have to continue from where the left off the night before, but it’s a little awkward for them.

When Blake woke up the next morning, she had, what she believed to be, the equivalent to the worst hangover she had ever had in her life. Her throat felt dry and scratchy, like there was nothing but sand. Her eyes stung, bloodshot at the edges, and her brain was just fuzzy. Blake could confirm that she had _never_ felt so pathetic in her life.

She always believed she was too mature for all of the high school drama, apparently not. _Apparently_ she had just been an activist for the last four years and skipped the whole teenager part of her life. All of it had now came back to bite her in the ass in her last year of school.

Blake’s hand flew to her bedside table, her finger tapping around on her phone screen in some attempt to mute her alarm. It worked, eventually, when her finger smacked down on the snooze button. She pushed the palms of her hands over her eyes, fingers stretching and tangling in her hair. She needed a moment to recollect before getting ready, before having to face Yang after embarrassing herself.

She decided to stop feeling bad for herself, falling out of bed and to her wardrobe. Jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket were pulled on, slipping her feet into her dirty converse, hair pulled back into a ponytail in the laziest fashion. Blake had to laugh at herself as she brushed her teeth, she looked and felt like shit.

‘ _It was my own fault,_ ’ she thought, as she checked her phone in case she had missed a text or a call. It was her own fault, she shouldn’t have blurted out how she felt, more emotions were certainly something Yang didn’t need. Not after her mom. She understood that Yang didn’t like to talk about her emotions either; she was reluctant to tell her about Neo and had said nothing about her mother. Weiss had warned her as well, when she told her that Yang had never been one to talk about what was going on.

‘ _It’s my own fault..._ ’ she repeated in her mind, shaking her head.

“Blake, my darling, is something the matter?” Kali cooed, her caring tone striking a chord within Blake. She shook her head, reaching for her backpack that was sat in the hallway. She forgot that living with your parents meant that they knew when something was wrong with you. “I just didn’t sleep well, where’s dad?” She asked, looking around for the missing man. Kali tensed her cheeks, a thin smile curled up on her lips. “You know him, so much work and not enough time,” she said, her finger pointing outside “Yang’s here.”

Blake’s stomach dropped. She was not prepared, mentally. Kali seemed none the wiser to this despair, only smiling happily and walking Blake to do the door, closing it behind her.

Yang looked how Blake felt; _like shit_.

Her hair was lazily thrown back into a ponytail, ruffled and messy. She still wore yesterday’s clothes and if Blake had to guess, it would be that Yang had possibly never even went to bed, what with the dark circles under her eyes. She took a few hesitant steps forward, stopping in front of the blonde. She was nervous, obviously, she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry...” Blake muttered, as it was the only thing she could think to say. Yang shook her head, a sigh pushing out of her nostrils. “Don’t be... _I_... let’s go.” It almost felt like she was about to say something, maybe it was something that would’ve made Blake feel better. She wasn’t sure. What did make her feel better, in a way, was when Yang instinctively reached forward to take her bag and strapped it onto the back of the bike.

She clung onto Yang as she drove through traffic. Something that normally felt so intimate and fun, was replaced with a tension that made her stomach curl. They were so close to each other yet Blake felt so far away, like Yang had sped off on her bike and left her on the sidewalk.

Blake had never been so glad to see a school in her life, the bike coming to a halt in the parking lot. She got off first, moving to remove her bag from the bike. Yang practically fell over herself in an attempt to do it for her instead. It made Blake feel a little better.

Yang clutched the leather strap of her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. She bounced on the balls of her feet, peering down at Blake. The raven haired girl recognised that neither of them knew what to say. She suspected that maybe Yang had been here, in this position, once or twice before. But Blake... had little to no experience. It was all new.

Blake exhaled, finally letting herself breath a little now that she was readying herself for whatever was about to come. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said... what I said.” She peeked her tongue out, running it over her suddenly dry lips. “No, please, you don’t have to apologise, it’s me,” Yang said and hooked her thumbs into the shoulder straps on her bag. “It’s just I....” her eyes scanned over Blake, mouth still open in a half finished sentence.

There was something in her lilac gaze that told Blake that she wanted to say something, the way her eyes shimmered in the morning light, so gorgeous, yet so pained. The perfect excuse pulled up next to them in Jaune’s car, the usual suspects consisting of Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune himself climbing out of the car.

“You were... going to say something?” Blake said, hoping that Yang would continue. The blonde nodded dumbly “Yes, I was saying...” she trailed off again, with that same pained look, like something was caught in her throat. She chuckled awkwardly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand “I _was saying that_... I see Pyrrha! I’ve really gotta talk to her, but I will talk- _with you_ , later!” Yang’s hands slid out of her straps, shooting finger guns at Blake, before spinning on her heel and hurrying towards Pyrrha.

Blake blinked a few times, cracking an amused smile. Awkward was not the word for whatever that was. Cringe? No, agonisingly cringeworthy, on Yang’s end. She shook her head and waited for Ren, who was waving at her, already asking something about their art class. 

* * *

Yang had fucked that up _spectacularly_. 

Pyrrha raised her eyebrows at the blonde as she approached, laughing slightly, her shoulders shaking. “I’ve gotta talk to you, immediately,” Yang whispered harshly, slinging her arm around Pyrrha’s shoulder and guiding her away from everyone. The redhead furrowed her brow, her smile still remaining. “Okay... nice move by the way, I’ll have to use the finger guns myself-“

“Pyrrha, it’s way too early for you to make me seem like an idiot,” she groaned, cursing herself for being so embarrassing. “I think you did that yourself, I mean Blake-“

“Blake told me she loves me,” she said, the words spilling from her lips, the remnants of what those words meant dripping down her skin and making her feel hot all over. Pyrrha’s eyes widened and she straightened up, smiling brightly. “Wow... _wow_ , what’d you say?”

And that hot electric feeling ended, giving way to what she was actually feeling. _Guilty_. “I-I didn’t say anything-“ Pyrrha slapped her clean across the face, her smile replaced with a mouth that hung open in shock, accompanied by furious eyes. Yang held her cheek, the skin beginning to redden. “What the hell was that for?!”

“Because you’re an asshole,” Pyrrha spat, still somehow managing to sound polite, “So that’s what you’re weirdness was about- know what, _it’s fine_ , we can fix this.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, inhaling and exhaling softly, as if trying to calm herself. To be fair, it wasn’t the first time Yang had saw Pyrrha do this calming technique, she’s had it used on her before after she screwed something up.

“No, I can fix it, _it’s just_... I wanted to tell you.” Yang gulped, running her tongue over her teeth. Truthfully she knew she could fix this, but that required extreme emotional vulnerability. Which wasn’t her favourite thing in the world, as the only time she had done that before was with Neo... she wasn’t willing to be left broken again. She had been left heartbroken by her mom, Neo and even her dad (in a way). It was when Pyrrha grabbed her shoulder and shook it lightly that she realised she had gotten lost for a moment.

Pyrrha sighed “Yang, don’t worry it’s fine, besides you do... love her... don’t you?” Yang opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, only a choking sound in the back of her throat. “Yeah, it’s worse than I thought, we have to get Blake and Weiss-“

“What?! No, don’t get _Weiss_ , she’ll kick my ass! I’ll just speak to Blake myself... _later_.”

“Oh, and when is later?”

“Later is... later, y’know... _later on_...”

Yang and Pyrrha stared at each other for a moment, a silent contest, whoever makes a decision first wins.

“I’m not convinced, I’m telling Weiss,” Pyrrha said, smirking and walking off before Yang could object. Usually she would be mad when they forced her into doing things, but they were trying to help. She was glad they acted as her voice when she couldn’t speak herself...

‘ _No, there are some things you need to do on your own, I’m saving my pride on this one,_ ’ she thought, rushing after Pyrrha. 

* * *

The hours dragged in, classes seeming to get longer and longer, professor Port’s stories got more and more interesting. It was safe to say, not the best day for Blake. Finger guns, followed up by her and Weiss almost screwing up their chemistry experiment, led to the most embarrassing morning for her. From there it just seemed to drag. But lunch, sitting with her friends, was usually fun. 

“Jaune, how have you _never_ played monopoly?” 

“ _I don’t know_ , I have a big family, we just never got around to playing it-“

“Having a big family is a better reason to play-“ Nora cut herself off, frantically waving her hands in the air, “someone, _please_!” They all laughed, Jaune included, awkwardly running his hand through his scraggly hair. “Me and Jaune play remnant all the time,” Ruby said, sticking up for her friend. Jaune smiled.

“Nerds,” Nora quipped, sitting back down in her seat. Ruby and Jaune began going back and forth, speaking about remnant, this game that they were obsessed with. Weiss rolled her eyes but happily indulged them, leaning on her hand and listening in. Blake noticed the small looks between Yang and Pyrrha, how stupid to think two people could convey their thoughts with just a look... or that would sound stupid until actually seeing it in person. She chose to ignore it, deciding she’d rather not know.

Blake realised she really didn’t have anything to say, usually she’d have a comment or two to quip at Ruby and Jaune’s geekiness. But there was an obvious air about her, something unmistakably dejected, like a kitten curled up in a ball after being given into trouble. It also didn’t help that her ears were pinned back... the negative of being a faunus, additional uncontrollable expressions. 

The crash of a tray came from the other end of their table. All of their heads swivelled in unison to see Sun holding back Coco, who was struggling to break out of his hold, hurling profanities at Cardin who was walking away with a terrified look on his face. “Do you think he said something to Velvet?” Blake asked, genuinely curious. “Probably, racist prick,” Yang said, shrugging casually. For a moment Blake thought the conversation would continue, that Yang would turn around and give her opinion on the matter.

She didn’t, she just remained staring in that direction, watching Coco now slinging her elbow into Sun’s ribs, breaking free and storming off towards the art department. Weiss caught Blake’s gaze, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly, which was never a good sign as she had learned. Jaune clicked his fingers, his face lighting up as he just remembered something. Another cute thing Blake had came to learn in the past few weeks.

“I meant to ask, Blake, could you help me with my writing after school?” He asked, and she suddenly realised why Pyrrha had such a hard time saying how no to him; his cute puppy dog eyes. He was obviously using them on purpose, but, she was still a sucker. “Yeah, sounds good, I’m not doing anything anyway,” she said casually, and was well aware of Yang looking at her.

“Cool! Pyrrha and Weiss are coming too, Pyrrha helps me and Weiss judges me.”

“Critical but fair,” Weiss smiled proudly. It clearly was not something she should be proud of but that was just the Weiss way she supposed. Yang’s fingers rapped off of the table, her hand quickly shooting up to scratch behind her neck. “So... I won’t wait for you after practice?” Yang asked. Blake shook her head “No, thanks though.” Yang nodded and looked away, muttering a string ‘ _cool’s._

‘ _Oh, that was painful,_ ’ Blake thought, ‘ _it’ll be fine though, we’ll talk about it eventually._ ’ It killed her that they weren’t going to talk about it now but she wasn’t about to bring it up in front of everyone. Because _1)_ that would make her feel like she was in her forties and _2)_ that would be embarrassing for both of them. She locked eyes with Weiss again, her pointed stare openly stating she had a question ready on the tip of her tongue. Blake’s phone buzzed. 

**Velvet:** if u and Ren have time can you guys come up and help with changing the display?

Blake didn’t believe in god, but if there was one she would like to think they had mercy on her in that moment. “Ren, Velvet asked if we could go help out up in art,” she said, her finger pointing over towards the art department. Ren nodded and reached down, grabbing his rucksack. The two of them stood, already walking away from the table. “I’ll come too!” Nora declared, bolting after them. 

* * *

Yang was aware of the atmosphere that surrounded her right now, the little ‘ _say something’s_ that Pyrrha kept mouthing to her, and the daggers that Weiss was staring at her. So there was _a chance_ that she was screwing this up more than she already had. In the last five minutes she had debated texting Blake her thoughts and quickly shut down that idea because she would look like even more of a douche than she already did.

She was dangerously close to becoming a high school stereotype.

Yang ruffled her hair and cracked open her bottle of water, taking a drink from it. She watched Jaune and Ruby skip off together, hoping to recruit someone for a game of remnant. With those two gone it left only-

“ _What the hell did you do?!_ ”

Yang made a strangled sound as she choked on her water, placing the bottle down as she coughed. “ _W-What?_ ” She managed to say through her coughs. Pyrrha pursed her lips and closed her eyes, awaiting the avalanche of insults and incredulousness that would come. “ _You know what_! Blake moping around, you acting like your not usually glued to her-“

“You do act like that,” Pyrrha said quietly, nodding in agreement. Yang frowned at Pyrrha and looked away, she didn’t want to continue the conversation in the middle of the school. “It’s fine I’ll just speak to Blake about it later.”

“I didn’t ask if it was fine I asked what you did.”

“Actually it’s because she’s not did anything-“

“ _Pyrrha!_ ” Yang yelled.

“ _I’m sorry,_ I’m just helping,” Pyrrha said, raising her hands defensively. Yang screwed her eyes shut. ‘ _What a shitshow of a day,_ ’ she thought. “I know, but it’s not helping,” Yang said, sighing. Weiss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms “So Pyrrha gets to know but I don’t?” She questioned.

“No, it’s nothing like that, I just want to do this on my own without you butting in to help... _please,_ just drop it,” Yang said and Weiss nodded, half acknowledging everything she was saying. “Fine, _I’ll drop it,_ ” Weiss said in a voice that suggested she was not going to drop this. “I’m gonna go find Ruby.” She stood up and walked off towards the art department... not where Ruby had went. 

Yang leaned over the table and lowered her voice “Please don’t tell her or she’s gonna go all Emma Woodhouse on us.”

“Since when do you read Jane Austen?”

“Blake gave me a few of her books- _wait no_! That’s not the point!” 

“Yang, it’s fine, I won’t tell her.” Pyrrha laughed nervously. The blonde nodded, her mouth locked in a frown as she pressed her elbows to the table and her palms to her forehead. It was just now that all the sleep she hadn’t gotten was catching up to her, she was tired of thinking. She didn’t need to think she just needed to go speak to Blake but anytime she tried to her voice was lost. All words evaded her.

“I’ll speak to her later.” 

* * *

When Blake and Weiss left the library together, signalling the end of the school day, she thought maybe she would catch Yang in the hallway before she left with Jaune and Pyrrha. She thought that now might be the ‘ _later_ ’ that Yang had referred to earlier. But when Pyrrha told her Yang had opted to stay back and do some extra passing drills with some of the younger members of the team, she realised it was not. 

Sitting in the passenger seat of Weiss’ car, she started to worry that ‘ _later_ ’ meant ‘ _never_ ’. 

Her mind switched from one blonde to another as she walked into Jaune’s room, laughing at some of the ridiculous things inside his bedroom. At first glance the room would seem normal, blue walls, only essential furniture, fairly minimalistic. Then she glanced down at the race car bedsheets and had to laugh, she couldn’t help it. Jaune pouted at her as he grabbed his laptop, sitting cross legged on his bed.

Blake and Weiss sat at one end of the bed whilst Pyrrha and Jaune sat at the other, backed up against the headboard, waiting for his laptop to start up. Pyrrha was going through a small pile of paper, assumedly what he had already written. Weiss nudged Blake in the arm and pointed to a hoodie that was slung over the back of his desk chair. There was the image of pumpkin Pete, the cereal mascot. Blake snorted and turned her face away, Weiss laughing along with her.

“I’m never inviting you guys over again...” Jaune pouted, his bottom lip sticking out. Pyrrha gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “That’s not even the worst of it,” Pyrrha said, chuckling along with them. The redhead pointed to the guitar in the corner of the room “He tried to ask Weiss out by singing her a song with that guitar.” Blake giggled at the thought of an unimpressed Weiss sitting through the ordeal.

“I like to think she turned me down because she’s gay and not because she wasn’t into me.”

“No, it was both reasons,” Weiss said, shrugging nonchalantly. Blake laughed again and wiped her face, as if she was trying to wipe away her own smile. “So, what’d you want me to do Jaune?” Blake asked. She could sit here and talk about all of his embarrassing experiences all night, but she knew he actually needed her help, so she might as well get started.

Jaune reached over and took some things out of Pyrrha’s lap, handing them over to Blake. “If you could go over what I’ve wrote, just check that it’s okay. There’s sticky notes and highlighters if you want to make any changes,” he said, Blake nodded at him and twirled the yellow highlighter in her fingers. “I owe you,” the blonde said, going back to whatever he was doing on his laptop.

She looked down at the papers she had been handed. The working title for it was ‘No Strings Attached’, and after skimming over the story so far, she realised he was using the red string of fate trope. ‘ _Pyrrha definitely had a hand in this,_ ’ she thought, smirking as she looked over at Pyrrha, who smiled back. The story was cute, girl meets boy, suddenly there’s a red string attached to their hands that they both think is a pain in the ass when it gets tangled around stuff. There was even a scene that had actually made her smile.

She had to admit, he wasn’t a terrible writer. _Cheesy_. Not _terrible_ though.

Blake didn’t know she was going to be reading about romance, a section of the shelves she had actively avoided when she was in the library earlier. Because the idea of love right now gave her butterflies and simultaneously felt like a knife had been twisted in her gut. She was happy for the distraction at the moment, highlighting typos and parts that contradicted themselves in Jaune’s story. However she still noticed the looks Pyrrha and Weiss would shoot her way every now and then.

She suspected they knew, but appreciated that they didn’t ask.

There was the soft sound of music in the room, coming from a speaker that sat on Jaune’s desk. It was accompanied by the sounds of shouting, laughing and full on screaming that came from Jaune’s living room downstairs. It was strange because there was no anger, just really loud and rowdy voices. Blake always wondered if her family dynamic would seem boring compared to everyone else’s.

Weiss groaned and rolled her eyes as she tapped away on her phone. “Coco’s talking about that stupid bar her and Velvet want to check out a few towns over again,” she said, closing her phone off and tossing it aside on the bed. “Now Sun and Neptune are all hyped up about it, talk about a strategy to get us to go.”

“I think it would be fun, a nice road trip for everyone before exams start.” Pyrrha beamed, she somehow saw the nice in everything. Jaune grimaced, his gaze not turning away from his laptop for a moment. “Please don’t remind me of exams, I might have a panic attack,” Jaune whined.

“Exams don’t bother me,” Blake said blankly. Weiss chuckled and grabbed her phone again, her nail audibly tapping off of the screen. “I need to show you this video of Sun, Yang-“ Blake’s ear swivelled “-and Jaune from after our history exam last year.” Blake, intrigued by this, pulled her eyes away from her paper and looked at Weiss’ phone.

Weiss clicked on a photo and tilted her phone towards Blake, she giggled at the photo. Jaune looked like he was on the verge of tears and Sun was hugging Neptune as if he had just come back from the war. Yang was making that cute face she would make when she was embarrassed. Cheeks reddened and trying not to smile at her own misfortune. “I swear, all of the blonde’s think alike.”

“That’s not true, we have quite dynamic blondes,” Pyrrha said, smiling over at Jaune, who didn’t know whether or not to take that as a compliment. “We have two jocks and a nerd, the most dynamic thing about them is their ‘ _aesthetic_ ’ instagram photos,” They all laughed, Jaune didn’t bother to deny that one. 

* * *

Jaune stretched and closed over his laptop. They were beginning to finish up what they were doing for the night, as the sun was beginning to set, indicated by the orange glow filtering in through the blinds. Weiss had offered to drive Blake and Pyrrha home, which they both accepted. Although Pyrrha did give Weiss a questioning look.

The drive was quiet on the way to drop Pyrrha home first. Pyrrha seemed almost relieved as she sat in the back seat. Blake was idly hovering her thumb over her texts. She wondered if she should text Yang first instead of waiting for her. She wouldn’t know unless she tried right?

**Blake:** hey, you said we could talk? 

And now she felt incredibly stupid again. This was ridiculous, she knew there was a reason Yang hadn’t spoke to her, trying to force it wasn’t going to help. She closed her phone off and pushed it into her jacket pocket, focusing her eyes back outside. Pyrrha waved them goodbye when they stopped outside her house, Blake waved back, mustering up a polite smile. Her phone buzzed. 

**Yang:** soz i’m super busy, i promise i’ll talk ltr tho

She rolled her eyes and put her phone back in her pocket. Blake knew that would be the reply, and she understood why, but it didn’t make it any less irritating. “Do you... do you want to talk about it?” Weiss asked, sounding like it was hard for her to say. She did want to talk about it, to Weiss, to Yang, to anybody really. Because she couldn’t deny that it stung even if she felt it was self inflicted.

“I just... said something stupid and now she’s _mad_? I don’t know, she’s just acting weird.” She bit her lip. Weiss was hesitating to pry further, yet she did, she felt like she had to. “What did you say...?” She asked, a distant thought appearing, thinking that she already knew. Weiss looked over at Blake, who’s eyes were glassy and her lip was red from biting down on it. She pulled the car over, feeling like she had to. 

“I...I told her t-that I _l-loved_ her _and_...” her voice was breaking, tears already spilling. She didn’t want to cry, or to show that she was so bothered by it, because she felt like she shouldn’t be. “And she never said anything about it... _at all_... she just looked... _horrified_.” Blake said, finishing her sentence. The raven haired girl muttered an apology, wiping her eyes, her ears pinning back and pointing outward.

“Blake she...” Weiss reached across the car, pulling Blake over and into a hug, letting her silently weep. “I promise she’ll speak to you and explain,” she said. Weiss knew Yang well enough to know she was just as bad at dealing with emotions as Coco used to be. But she would come around. It was Blake, all of their friends could tell Yang was head over heels for her.

“It still kinda sucks though,” Blake giggled into her shoulder, voice still husky from the tears. “Oh no, it definitely sucks.”

* * *

Weiss dropped Blake home, where Blake told her to drive off before she decided to spend the night in her car. 

Blake walked into her house, seeing her leather suitcases sitting in the hallway. “Mom?” She called out, confusion tinting her voice. Kali came down from upstairs, Ghira following behind her. “Blake! I was wondering when you’d be home,” Kali said, pulling Blake into a hug. Her eyes flicked between her parents and the suitcases. 

“Are you guys going somewhere?” She asked, concern lacing her voice. She didn’t exactly want to be left alone right now. Mainly because she knew she’d just cry- actually she could probably just ask Weiss to stay over. “A meeting with Sienna Khan over in Mistral, we won’t be gone for long.” Kali cupped her cheek before moving to drag one of the cases to the doorway. Ghira stepped down, grabbing the other case with ease. “We leave on Thursday night, we’ll be back no later than Tuesday-“

”Five days? That’s a little long for a meeting.” Blake eyed them suspiciously. Ghira laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s a series of meetings for me, we don’t know how long they’ll go for,” he said softly, pulling back and moving to take the other case from Kali, dragging both of them outside. “And I’m having a spa weekend.” Kali winked at Blake, guiding her into the living room. 

She sat down on the sofa, immediately itching to go back outside. She couldn’t sit still. Too much to think about, too much to say, too much that she was feeling. Talking with Weiss had cracked open that bottle of emotion and now it was leaking. Not to mention the idea of being here, alone, for five days. “So you’ve ditched your daughter for a massage or two?” She smirked, Kali shrugged. “You’re a big girl, besides you can ask Yang to come stay over.”

”You could’ve asked if I wanted to come...”

”You would’ve said no-“

”Not my point...” she pouted. The itching got worse, her foot tapping, dying to move. Her anxiety flared. She had to take her mind off of everything. Blake stood up, “I think I’m gonna go for a walk,” she said.

* * *

Before she knew it, she was outside again, walking. She didn’t know where to just... walking. Her phone buzzed. 

**Ilia:** how’s things with u and the golden girl?

She clicked the call button, holding her phone up to her ear. Ilia answered after a few rings. “You never call, so that’s not a good sign,” Ilia said, making Blake laugh. “I never have anything interesting to tell you!”

“Yes you do! You were on a date the other night and didn’t tell me, I had to find out from that monkey faunus that you go to school with.”

“How do you know Sun?” Blake asked, swerving around a corner, vaguely aware that she was now in the city. “He came into the cafe I work at and recognised me from your instagram-“

“Sorry, since _when_ do you work in a cafe?”

“Since my girlfriend got me this job-“

“ _What?!_ ” Blake shrieked, startling a few passerby’s and coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. She laughed, causing Ilia to laugh at the other end of the phone. “What were you just saying? That _I_ don’t tell _you_ anything- you have a whole secret life that I don’t know about!” Blake said. She was glad she had decided to call Ilia, all of her Yang problems seemed to have faded for the moment.

“Well I’m on my break right now, but you should come down and visit if your not doing anything.” Blake smiled, she liked the thought of that. “I can make you tea and tell you about my life, and you can silently brood.”

“I don’t brood anymore...” she pouted “where’s your cafe? I’ll swing by.”

“Down by the port, next to the crowbar.” Blake nodded to herself, and realised she was closer to the port than she realised she was. Talk about getting lost for a while... she was at the other side of town. “I’m only a few blocks away,” she said, walking steadily down the street.

Blake crossed the road, to the side with the warehouses. She wouldn’t have crossed if she didn’t have to but there was unfortunately no sidewalk left to walk on at the other side. She was half listening to Ilia talk on the phone and half focusing on the warehouses next to her. It was eerily quiet. “There’s a white fang meeting on down here isn’t there?” She asked, to herself and Ilia.

“No? Not that I know of, who told you that?”

“I ran into Adam yesterday and he told me that-“ Blake paused, staring across the concrete to the police cars and vans that were parked outside of one of the warehouses. There were White Fang members being pushed inside, all of them coming out the warehouse in handcuffs. Then out came that same red headed man who was with Adam, yelling for the cops to keep their hands off of his suit as they pushed him into the back of the car.

Her heart dropped a little when she saw Adam, hands behind his back, clearly handcuffed and struggling to break out of the officers grasp. He and Blake locked eyes. There was a flash, a bull seeing red, his face contorted into pure anger as he fell forward. “ _You!_ ” He screeched at the top of his lungs, baring his teeth, spit flying everywhere. He looked psychotic. “ _You did this to me!_ ” He yelled again, still struggling to escape.

Adam had fallen so far forward in his struggle that the only thing holding him up was the woman behind him, who was easily holding him up by his handcuffs. The woman rolled her eyes and pulled him upright, tugging him around. She tried to force him inside the car, but struggled against him as she tried to push his head down. Adam withstood her strength.

“ _You_ did this to me Blake! _I swear_ you’re gonna pay for this!” He continued to yell, but was finally pushed inside the car by the woman arresting him. Another man in a brown trench coat, who looked to be the one in charge, turned around and looked at her. He began to walk over, a soft smile on his face.

“Do you know him miss?” He asked. Blake blinked a few times. She was a little in shock from what she just witnessed. “I used to, yeah... sorry-“

“Don’t worry about it, just move along.” He smiled softly. Blake nodded, but couldn’t take her eyes off of the scene. She could see him thrash around in the back of the car, the muffled sounds of his yells still audible to her.

“Blake?” Ilia said, reminding her that she was still on the phone. “Sorry it’s just...” how could she even explain, in a sentence, what she just witnessed? “I’ll tell you when I get there.” She walked off, leaving it all behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m on a roll and I’m just gonna keep uploading these chapters as I finish them because I’m super into this. Also the tiny part between Blake and Weiss made me way too emotional writing it.


	14. Supermarket Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coco joins Yang’s squad of wingmen.

**Blake:** I’m gonna walk to school today

**Yang:** r u sure? i was just about 2 come get u

**Blake:** it’s fine, thanks though

Two days. It had been _two days_ since Blake had spoke to Yang. Or well, two days since Yang had said that they’d talk ‘ _later_ ’. They had spoke in passing, she had even picked Blake up and dropped her home the day before. This morning however, Blake decided she couldn’t take the small talk anymore. She felt like she was going to combust. And she just knew that if Yang were to pick her up, they would still have to talk ‘later’. 

“‘Oh, I understand, she’s just going through something, I need to give her time to talk to me’, proceeds to be a bitch.”

“Ilia?”

“Blake?”

“Shut up,” she said, sipping on her drink as she slipped her phone back into her pocket. It turned out that having a friend who worked in a cafe meant: free tea. Blake was so happy, sipping on her tea/latte/whatever Ilia had made her. She didn’t really care what it was, it tasted great. Ilia had said she’d walk with her as she went to school, claiming it was because she needed to pick milk up from the store.

They had passed multiple stores, all much closer to the cafe. Blake was glad for the company though.

“Do you think she’ll talk to you today?” Ilia asked, tossing her cup into a garbage can as they passed by it. Blake shrugged. “I’m not sure, we don’t have any classes together today so there’s that,” her mind wandered for a moment, thinking of any possible scenario she could speak to her outside of lunch and their break. “Is it totally pathetic that it’s only been two days and I miss her dumb jokes?”

“Yes, apparently you’re really clingy.”

“Why are we friends?” Blake smirked, Ilia chuckling back at her. Blake liked that, even though they have their differences, Ilia is her friend first and foremost. “Crazy that your girlfriend is Velvet’s cousin,” The raven haired girl said, swirling her cup, enjoying the feeling of the liquid moving from side to side. “Crazy that your girlfriend is a gorgeous, popular, football player and you expected a relationship to be easy.”

“Do you just like getting little jabs in? Is that it?”

“You finally caught on,” The brunette said dryly. They lapsed into silence, a nice kind of silence, filled with birds chirping, that early morning smell of pollen in the spring and the sounds of cars driving in the distance. The streets were never quiet in the morning, even in the city. There was something nice about it all, that made Blake forget about everything else. She tossed her cup into a garbage can as they passed by, revelling in how she had opted not to litter and through her cup on the ground.

“What’s it like at your school? I always imagined it would be like mean girls,” Ilia said, her eyes wandering over to the windows of the shops they passed. “It’s not really, everyone’s mostly friendly, and the cafeteria is always weirdly empty.” Blake pushed the button, telling her to wait for the light to change. Ilia hummed and nodded. The light changed, and they crossed over, continuing to walk.

She could see Beacon from where they were, the bright blue signs with the schools name and motto stood out against the building itself. There were a myriad of cars and bikes that swung around the corner, all students or teachers trying to make it on time. She wondered if Yang was here yet... she couldn’t see her bike in the parking lot. To be fair she couldn’t see that well, but the bright yellow would stand out-

“-otta get back to work, I’ll text you soon.” Blake blinked herself out of whatever trance she was in, nodding absently, pretending she had been listening all along. She smiled, “Yeah, okay.” She leaned forward giving Ilia a tiny hug “Thanks for walking me.”

“Don’t tell people that I walked you, I hate you remember?”

“Yup, definitely,” Blake giggled, walking off towards the school. It felt weird, walking into school on her own. The last time she had walked to school she had Adam hot on her tail, her heart beating a mile a minute, and a cheerful blonde to greet her once she got inside. Today however she had... Coco and Neptune checking how they looked in the camera of their phones.

Her face dropped from neutral to unimpressed, her ears flopping down to emphasise this. Coco looked over at her and grinned, whipping her sunglasses off. “We can’t all be natural beauties,” she winked, retaining her smile. She could see how people fell for her charm. “By the way, what’s up with Yang? I asked if she wanted to go out last night but she was all pissy,” Coco said, leaning against the lockers. Neptune paid them no mind.

Blake’s stomach did a flip at the mention of Yang’s name. That wasn’t a sensation she was going to get used to. She hoped she wouldn’t have to. “What was she doing?” She asked. Coco swirled her finger in the air, “Said she was reading and she wanted to finish her book.” That apparently caught Neptune’s attention, furrowing her brow as he looked between them. “Yang can _read_?”

“Neptune, I’d be more surprised if _you_ could read,” Coco quipped, pushing him away from her. Blake wasn’t surprised, she already knew Yang liked to read, even if she may never admit that herself. She knew Yang liked reading but hated when she didn’t know what they meant. So she gave her a bunch of books where the plot was fairly simple. Except for maybe one or two, she liked the idea that Yang would come running, searching for meaning within those pages and needing her guidance.

“I blame you,” Coco said, laughing as she slung her arm around Blake’s shoulders, walking her away from Neptune, who was still fixing his hair. “I swear, she makes time out of thin air just so she can read or watch whatever you’ve told her to.” Coco removed her arm, seeing as Blake was about to open up her locker. “Maybe she’s just got good taste,” Blake said and busied herself with organising notebooks in her locker. She didn’t know if Coco noticed that she was only moving things around to buy time, if she did she never said anything.

“Maybe she just wants to put the effort in ‘cause she likes you so much.” Blake saw what she was doing. Hyping up her friend, trying to throw a good word or two in there in case Blake already didn’t know. Perhaps what Coco was saying was right and Blake was just overthinking. It was possible that she had just blown it out of proportion for herself.

Then she saw Yang walk past, Pyrrha walking alongside her. The blonde hadn’t even glanced at her once, like she wasn’t even there. Blake let out a small sigh, she was so uncertain, of everything. “I’ll see you later Coco,” she said dejectedly, closing over her locker and walking in the other direction.

Yang turned around, but was met with the back of Blake’s head. 

* * *

Blake began to realise that her art class was sort of an escape from everything. Creative arts was usually what she liked more than academics, so when Velvet and Ren needed her help, she gladly offered her services. She held a pot of paint in one hand, a brush in the other, waiting for Ren to stop gawking at the artwork on the wall and take the items from her. 

Her services, more often than not, were just helping Ren and Velvet with whatever they were doing. 

They were helping set up a display of students artwork for anyone who came to visit the school, she was proud to say that one of her paintings made it onto the board. A painting of the trees in forever fall, a train blurred in the background behind said trees. She didn’t know what made her want to draw that, she felt like she related to it in a way (of course, it was her painting after all). Most of them were either Ren’s or from classmates she never really spoke to. 

She caught on to how Ren liked to draw flowers, which was lovely in a way. She supposed he was just that kind of... sensitive guy. She turned to see Velvet, who was flicking through pictures on her camera, trying to decide which ones she wanted to print out. Blake laughed at how Velvet carefully avoided any pictures from her own projects, if you could call your girlfriends makeshift fashion line a project.

“I have so many pictures of that farm we visited, but only a few are actually useable...” Velvet said, pouting, her ears flopping forward slightly in her disappointment. “Let’s see,” Ren said, finally taking the items from Blake hands and setting them aside. She was glad to finally put her arms down, the relief instantly settling into her muscles. They sat down next to Velvet, peering over at her camera as she showed them her photos.

The camera had been positioned in the grass, pointing upwards, through a small gap in between the green blades. There was an arch of cornflowers that crossed over each other, the sun reflecting off of the petals. “Velvet, this is gorgeous,” Blake said with a breathless giggle. Ren nodded in agreement. “Cornflowers are supposed to be good luck charms,” Ren said, casually going back to whatever it was that he was doing.

“Y’know, I’ve never really thought about it, but you’re really into flowers Ren,” Velvet laughed, setting her camera aside. Blake took this as her moment of respite from holding random things for the two of them, she leaned back in the chair and kicked her feet up. Ren smiled softly, briefly looking over at his paintings, all of which were an array of colours.

“My mom was a florist and I ended up just being very interested in flowers because of that,” Ren said, twirling a paintbrush in his hands, “they all have different meanings, even if they are quite similar.”

Blake quirked her head to the side “Like what?” She asked, a genuinely curious look on her face, one ear tilting back. Ren cleared his throat and pointed to one of his paintings. It was of a field, with a church behind it, small patches of grass filled with flowers, blues, yellows and purples, all carefully woven into the canvas. “Pansies-“ she guessed it was pansies in the painting “-symbolise remembrance, which is why they’re often shown at funerals.”

He pointed to another painting of a little girl, playing in a garden with her dog, filled with daisies. “Daisies symbolise innocence.” That made sense context wise. Little girl, untainted by what was yet to come; innocence and purity at its finest. He pointed again, this time it was a painting of a single flower inside an empty beer bottle. “Tulips mean the perfect love- my point is, flowers are gorgeous and so is what they represent.”

Blake nodded, understanding perfectly. She had a newfound fondness for tulips. Her lips curled up into a smile. She wondered what belladonna’s represented, if they represented anything at all. It would probably be something silly or cliche. She let out a small breath, marvelling at her new knowledge of flowers, “Crazy, I never knew that...”

The bell rang out, signalling that school was over. Or it should’ve been, but Blake was bound to the library, subjected to getting annoyed over people who couldn’t put a book back on the right shelf. No, actually, that person who put ‘Coraline’ in the education section was right, of course that’s were that goes. 

Blake was mildly embarrassed over her obsession with organising the library.

She followed Velvet out into the corridor, stopping by her locker. She turned away, pretending to check her phone when Coco walked over to give them some sort of privacy. It had only been two days, _two days_ , but she missed coming out of class and seeing Yang- or even texting her. Yang would update her on how boring her classes were or how Qrow was trying to embarrass her again.

She sighed and bit her lip, feeling her eyes burn.

She opened them again and caught Yang’s stare from across the hallway. It was like one of those moments she always saw on tv, locking eyes from across the room, the rest of the world blurs and suddenly that other person is the only thing that matters. Which was true, in a way. Yang smiled at her and it all felt so natural, like nothing had happened at all. Butterflies fluttered around in Blake’s stomach, threatening to burst out and fly off.

Then Blake remembered that Yang hadn’t spoke to her in the past two days, which sent a bolt of irritation through her body. But, she also had her reasons for not speaking to her. But then again- she shook her head. She couldn’t do this back and forward with herself, it was stupid. Blake smiled back and chuckled as Yang was dragged off by Nora.

She caught sight of a blonde monkey tail swishing back and forth. She grimaced and turned on her heel, pushing Velvet to get moving. Blake really couldn’t be bothered to talk to Sun today, too much optimism and stupidity combined into one. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her.

“Hey, Blake! Wait up!”

“ _Fuck!_ ” She whispered, causing Velvet to laugh. The brunette hiked her bag over her shoulder and tilted her head back towards Blake. “I’m gonna go on ahead,” she said, smirking cheekily. Blake narrowed her eyes and nodded, she would remember this betrayal.

Sun appeared next to her, bursting with joy. She felt like she was going to have to shield her eyes if this kept up, too much sunshine. “Did you hear? Adam got arrested!” He said excitedly, bouncing on the spot. His childishness was cute. “Yeah, I heard.” She hadn’t heard, she saw it happen. It had admittedly freaked her out since then because of all of his screaming threats. Most likely empty threats but threats nonetheless.

“Yeah, I tipped off my boss and he sent a squad down there, got them all rounded up, _pretty impressive_ right?” He said, shining his knuckles off of his shirt with a cocky smirk. “Impressive for your boss, all you did was tell him where Adam was,” Blake deadpanned. Cockiness she could deal with, she found it to be an endearing trait of a certain blonde, but she was irritated when that cockiness was misplaced. Much like the books in the library.

“Y-Yeah well, just thought I’d let you know-“

“Blake!”

‘ _Since when did so many people want to talk to me?_ ’ Blake groaned internally. Sun smiled politely at her before leaving, now being replaced by Weiss, who looked to be in a rather chirpy mood. “What’s got you so happy?” Blake asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. The white haired girl shook her head, a soft smile on her face “Nothing in particular,” she said. Blake nodded like she understood and let out a long ‘ahh’ “You saw Ruby, makes sense.”

“Speaking of,” Weiss flashed her eyebrows, “What did Yang say?”

“When?”

“About the whole... you know,” Weiss said awkwardly, her hand idly making circles in the air, trying to convey what she meant. Blake knew, she was just a little confused. “I haven’t spoken to Yang since Monday...” she said, furrowing her brow. She didn’t know what gave Weiss the impression that she had spoke to Yang. She was probably just assuming. After all, assumptions were a Schnee strategy that always somehow worked out for her.

“You’re not serious...” Weiss said quietly, her smile dropping to a frown. Blake shrugged and nodded. “She’ll speak to me when she’s ready,” she said, trying to seem like she wasn’t at all bothered by it. She didn’t know why she was trying to convince Weiss about this, she already knew Blake was upset, what was the point in trying to hide it now?

What Blake hadn’t expected was the white haired girl to just nod, her frown remaining as she looked around the hallway. “Sorry, I’ve got to go,” Weiss said abruptly. She gave one final nod before walking off, her pace quickening, each step took with purpose. ‘ _Well that was weird,_ ’ Blake thought. Then again, there were a lot of weird things happening lately.

* * *

Yang had barely stepped out onto the field, but she already felt distant from everything and everyone. She felt like she should be running around, darting from left to right, keeping herself active despite how tired she was. She was screwing it all up for herself, she knew that. She barely registered that she was passing the ball to Coco until she was reminded that they weren’t on the same team this practice. 

Pyrrha glanced over to her, concern tracing her features. Yang smiled and nodded like she hadn’t took a hammer to her own heart. Her eyes absently wandered over to where the cheerleaders were practicing, Sun and Neptune messing around with each other as per usual. She wondered if Sun had spoken to Blake today, she knew the two of them were friends.

Yang shook her head and sighed. She felt terrible for Blake. Physically, she didn’t feel great herself either because she hadn’t slept much, but her concern was mainly for Blake. She had broke her heart, Yang knew that too. She hadn’t meant to, she wanted to tell Blake she loved her, that she had never felt this way about anyone, let alone so quickly. Wanted to say that maybe all Pyrrha’s talk of soulmates wasn’t all bullshit-

“ _YANG XIAO-LONG, YOU BITCH!_ ” 

The whole team turned to watch Weiss storm across the field, her face like thunder.

Yang’s head snapped towards Pyrrha, “ _You told her?!_ ”

“ _No_!” Pyrrha slapped her hands against her chest defensively “I told you I wouldn’t- and _I haven’t!_ ” Coco took her helmet off and looked between them, her messy brown hair bobbing. “Sorry, am I missing something?” She asked with a nervous chuckle.

Weiss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her hip out. “Your missing Yang being _Yang_ ,” Weiss growled, “Why haven’t you spoke to her? After our talk last week I thought you would’ve been _a little_ -“ she pressed her thumb and fore finger together “- _more_ in touch with your emotions.” Weiss was clearly upset by this, maybe even more so than Blake and Yang combined, judging by how hyperactive she was with her hand gestures (going from none to one was hyperactive for her.)

“Catch flights, not feelings, that’s what I always say.” Yang winked and shot finger guns at Weiss. Being playful was her deflection. She pulled off her helmet, getting comfy, she suspected this might last for a while. “No you’re right, _you’re absolutely right,_ ” Weiss grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her, laughing bitterly. Yang would be lying if she said she wasn’t terrified right now. 

“You’re _Yang Xiao-Long_ -“

“Stop saying my full name.”

“Emotions have no place in your heart, especially not love, no, you only feel vague happiness and sunshine,” Weiss drawled and gently patted Yang’s cheek. “The longer you don’t talk, the more it’ll hurt,” she whispered before letting Yang go, storming back across the field towards the school. Yang gulped. She already knew that, she didn’t need Weiss to tell her. Coco scratched at the back of her head, a confused look on her face. Yang cleared her throat, putting the mask back on. “It’s like we’re only friends so she can lecture me,” she laughed. 

“Would I be correct in assuming that this is about Blake?” She said, placing her hands on her hips. Yang remained still, Pyrrha nodded in her stead. The redhead held her hand up, stage whispering the situation to Coco. Yang was past the point of caring which of their friends knew, she just needed to fix whatever this was...

“ _Okay_...” Coco drawled, sighing, then she made a face like she sympathised. That’s when Yang remembered, she should’ve just went to Coco in the first place, _she’s an asshole,_ of course she’s been in this position before at some point. “Well, for a start, this is very fast but not surprising,” Coco laughed and Yang had to chuckle too. “You don’t want to lose her do you?” Coco said, so sweetly, that Yang fully turned towards her, almost shocked that it had come from her mouth.

Yang shook her head. Of course she didn’t want to lose her. She had to glare at Pyrrha, who was clearly loving every moment of this, the romantic inside her was thriving.

“Well you’ve got two options. Option one, just go be honest with her or at least just hang out with her. Talk when your ready.”

“What’s option two?”

“Tell her what she wants to hear, screw her, then take it all back,” Coco grinned, despite how horrible what she just said was. Yang nodded, she appreciated that Coco understood. “I’m kind of impressed,” the blonde said, her eyes blown wide to express that thought. Pyrrha nodded in agreement, “Yeah me too.”

“Why?”

“You,” Pyrrha pointed at her “Just gave solid advice. You’ve finally slipped into the big sister role you always wanted-“

“That’s untrue, I just wanna see my girl happy and in love,” Coco cooed, winking at Yang. Although with that advice, there was a new goal in Yang’s brain: go speak to Blake. That’s all she wanted to do but she had been avoiding doing it. Why? Because it was terrifying. How this smart, sassy and straight up sexy (in Yang’s eyes), girl had so much power over her. If Blake said she was thinking of going to Mistral Yang would already be buying the plane tickets, first class treatment, giving her all she deserves.

And... she doesn’t deserve to be ignored.

If only Nora could hear her thoughts, she’d call her a simp. 

“Don’t you dare bail on practice, you’re the captain and we’ve got a match coming up in a couple weeks.”

Yang whined, but threw her helmet on and got back to work nonetheless. 

* * *

“Are you okay?” 

She nodded fervently, her heart racing, not just from the over exertion during practice. Yang just wanted to get changed, go to the library, get Blake and talk. Maybe not talk. Maybe Blake would just be there and help her sort through her thoughts- there were a lot of those. A lot of feelings as well. 

Her helmet and her guards were thrown into the locker haphazardly, pulling on her shirt and jeans. The blonde realised she was doing everything at a rapid pace, like if she didn’t put her shirt on she might risk revealing her heart to everyone, showing them that it was soft and tender. Like if she didn’t pull on her jeans quickly it would show how her knees were weak and ready to buckle under her weight. 

A hand on her shoulder grounded her. “You’ve gotta calm down,” Coco chuckled, rubbing her shoulder. Pyrrha laughed, a loud symphony, akin to that of a bird singing. “I still can’t believe you gave good advice, the world must be ending,” the redhead said, Yang heard her sit down on the bench behind them. “I can be insightful when I want to be,” Coco bragged, shrugging it off like it was nothing. 

Yang wasn’t really listening. She was just focusing on pulling her hair back into a ponytail, a few stray strands stuck to her neck and cheeks, small bits of sweat that she hadn’t been wiped away. Or maybe those beads of sweat were new. Was she sweating right now? She didn’t know, she had been warm for the last hour and a half. She heaved her backpack over her shoulder, ready to go.

But she couldn’t. She had the keys to lock up. She was the captain. She groaned and banged her head off of the locker, causing Pyrrha and Coco to laugh at her. They were waiting for Nora to finish up getting ready, the four of them were always the last people to leave. It was mandatory for Yang, not so much for the other three. Pyrrha nodded at the blonde and mouthed, “ _I got this._ ”

“Do you guys want to go get something to eat?” She said, loudly, a sly smile on her face. Nora perked up, immediately slamming her locker shut and grabbing her bag. “I could eat,” she said, already moving towards the door. Yang smiled fondly at Pyrrha, she appreciated her speeding up the process. They left the locker room, then Yang remembered, nothing, not a single thing (except maybe a new door handle) could speed up the process of locking the door. The lock was rusty, and tough, and very fragile, and _a pain in the ass_ -

“ _Fuck me!_ ” She yelled, finally getting the door locked, her friends had long since left her behind. “Stupid _fucking_ door handle _!_ ” She grumbled to herself, already dashing through the hallway, only one destination in mind. She got to the library, almost empty. She swung around a book shelf upon seeing a familiar pair of rabbit ears poking over the top. “Hey Velvet,” she said politely, “Where’s Blake?” She was looking around. No sight of Blake.

“She already left, she said she sent you a text?”

Yang would’ve slapped herself in the face if it wouldn’t have made her look like an idiot. Not that she wasn’t one already. She hasn’t even checked her phone to see if Blake texted her. Yang pulled out her phone to confirm if she has or not. 

**Blake:** don’t wait for me, I’m going to see Ilia

How had she not just texted her in the first place, maybe a simple ‘ _hey, can I see you?_ ’ might have meant a lot to Blake. Instead she gets Yang running around, shouting at doors and banging her head off of the wall, you know, like a normal person. 

**Yang:** soz I didn’t c ur txt till now, want me to pick u up after?

**Blake:** it’s fine, thanks though

“Thanks Velvs, sorry for bothering you,” she said without looking up from her phone, already walking away. She heard Velvet hum in affirmation, probably not all that bothered in the first place. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, typing out things before immediately deleting them.

‘Sorry I haven’t really been talking, had a lot on my mind.’ No, that was a douche excuse.

‘Want to meet up after?’ Nah, too subtle.

‘Should we talk?’ Nope, that would just give her anxiety, she knew that if Blake sent her that text her mind would be reeling.

She settled on sending nothing at all, chuckling at the thought of Blake watching the chat bubble and being confused. Yang supposed she would just speak to her tomorrow, pick her up, maybe ditch class to talk- _no_ , she wasn’t gonna make Blake ditch class for her, that’s dumb.

The blonde swallowed thickly, pushing open the door. She put on her happy go lucky facade, getting ready to face anyone that might be out here so they wouldn’t catch wind of anything from her.

All she had to do was go home, relax, take a shower and maybe actually text or call Blake. 

* * *

Yang went home and tried to relax. Took a shower, did her homework like the good student she was and was now sitting in her living room. She hadn’t texted or called Blake. Qrow sat next to her, his reading glasses on, red pen being chewed as he marked students assignments. She had to give him credit, he was a pretty good teacher when he put his mind to it.

The blonde was fully dressed and feeling restless. It felt like something was trying to crawl out and escape, smash through the window and runaway. She glanced up at the tv. Hot girl in one advert, it made her think of Blake. She bit her nail, her foot idly tapping off of the ground, it felt like time was going too slow. Although it was possible she was just going too fast. That _was_ kind of her thing though wasn’t it?

“You’re up awfully late kiddo, it’s almost midnight,” Qrow said, his voice low and croaky, he barely looked up from his mountain of paper. Yang shook her head, “I just can’t sleep...” an idea crossed her mind. She looked over at him. Qrow, sensing that her niece was about to ask something of him, sat back and took off his glasses. “Would it be alright if I went a drive right now?” She asked, fingers crossed.

Qrow sighed and stroked the bridge of his nose. “Like I said, it’s awfully late Yang...”

“I won’t take long, I promise.”

Qrow scanned her, debating on whether or not he should let her go. He closed his eyes and chuckled, his shaking shoulders the only signal that he was actually laughing. “ _Alright_ , but if Tai asks then I know nothing,” he said, putting his glasses back on. “You might want to move your bike out of the driveway before starting it up, that engines got a kick to it.”

Yang nodded at him, mouthed her thanks and immediately got up to leave. She grabbed her jacket on the way out, pulling her arms through. The blonde did as her uncle said, making sure her bike was dragged out of the driveway and down the street a bit before she jumped on board.

She started driving, not really knowing where she was driving to. It was a certain freedom that she enjoyed, being out at night on her bike. It seemed like the city was empty, like it was her own playground to do as she pleased. Yang knew that it wasn’t but it was a cool thought. She stopped by a twenty four-hour supermarket to buy water, feeling parched from the crisp night air, colder than usual. That was probably due to the time of night as well. 

Yang found herself wandering around after picking up her water, looking at the shitty books that the store sold. She wondered if Blake had ever read any of them, then sniggered at the idea of Blake thinking they were trash. The blonde spun on her heel, about to go pay for her drink, when she spotted something that caught her eye. She got another idea. Apparently she was full of those tonight. 

* * *

Blake lay in bed, still fully awake. She had tossed and turned for ages but couldn’t quite slip into a slumber. She might not have seen Yang as much as she would’ve liked to this week, but spending time with Ilia was nice too. She was judgemental but she liked the difference in opinion. She also found it funny that her girlfriend didn’t hesitate to put Ilia in her place when she would go too far. 

Her phone buzzed and her brows furrowed. Glancing over at the old alarm clock she still kept next to her bed (but never used it), the time read twelve, forty-five. Who was up at this time? She grabbed her phone. 

**Yang:** hey, r u up? 

She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. 

**Blake:** yeah, something wrong?

**Yang:** can u open ur window?

”What?” She said quietly to herself, brows furrowing in confusion.

There was a soft knock that came from her window. Blake grinned at the absurdity of it, kicking the bedsheets off of her body and standing up. Yang hadn’t climbed up to her window, in the middle of the night, had she?. She pulled back her curtains. Surely enough, there she was. Crouched on the roof of her porch, outside her window. The blonde smiled softly, holding a bouquet of flowers, she mouthed ‘hi’ at her. Blake pulled open her window as quietly as she could. 

“ _What the hell are you doing?!_ ” She hissed, because the reality had set in for her. As cute as this all was, her parents were asleep just down the hall and would be furious if they knew any of this was going on. Yang winced and scratched the back of her neck, “Sorry... I just really wanted to see you.” Blake leaned out the window, glancing down to her parents room. She assumed they were sound asleep. 

“Uh, the-these are for you- by the way,” Yang stuttered, her hands lightly shaking as she offered the bouquet up to Blake. The raven haired girl climbed up onto her desk that sat below her window, kneeling on it so she could be closer to Yang. She took the flowers. “Thank you...” she said, turning them in her hands. “So you climbed up here... in the middle of the night-“ Yang sniggered quietly “so you could give me these supermarket flowers and say you wanted to see me.” 

“When you say it like that, it sounds insane.”

“That’s because it is...” they both laughed quietly, both being mindful that they could easily get caught right now. Blake looked up, watched Yang gulp and run her tongue over her teeth, her lips parting slightly. “I’m really sorry... about this whole week- you don’t deserve that,” she said and Blake could swear that she was about to cry. “I didn’t mean to shut you out or anything... I... you just don’t deserve that.” 

Blake nodded, she understood. Yang really admired how she could just understand and allow this. “I’ve been dying to talk to you for days.“ Blake looked down at the flowers, trying to hide the huge smile on her face. Yang smiled freely as she spoke. “Seriously, I kept trying to hype myself up to come talk you... then I would get scared.”

“I’m not _that_ scary.” 

“No, but I was scared I was gonna come talk to you, then say something I shouldn’t have and it would screw everything up,” she shrugged, shuffled forward on the roof tiles, grabbing onto the window frame to steady herself. Blake smiled, the whole situation felt so normal despite the unorthodox nature of it. “Coco said you bailed on her so you could read instead?” Blake said, giggling softly. Yang’s eyes gleamed and she held her other hand out in the air, ready to start rambling.

“I read that book, the name of the rose and I just know that the library is some sort of metaphor,” Blake started laughing, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle her laugh. “No, please, you’ve gotta tell me, I was googling this shit and I got nothing.”

“The library’s a labyrinth.”

“... _is that it_? It’s not like, the maze of life or something?” she asked, her smile never faded, Blake swore it blinded her. “It’s for you to interpret, I can’t tell you that you’re wrong.” Yang’s smile shrank from a large grin to a faint smile, still charming all the same. “Could we... maybe talk? I could take you out, butter you up with sushi.”

“You don’t have to pretend you like it.”

“But you like it so _I_ _really_ want to try,” Yang whined, pouting playfully at her. Blake smiled at her before reaching over to her clock. It was one in the morning. “I’d love to talk, but it’s kind of late,” she giggled and wrinkled her nose. Yang shrugged, “It’s not that late.”

“One in the morning is kind of late, I mean I’m pretty sure the only people awake in this entire street are us.” Yang tongued her cheek, thinking that she was smiling too much. Yang gripped the window frame, gingerly leaning forward, hovering just a few inches away from Blake’s face. She had never been nervous about kissing her before, this was different. Like she was doing it for the first time. 

“Can I kiss you?” She asked, not because she felt like she had to, but because she felt that Blake deserved more than her just taking what she wanted. Blake nodded faintly, her nose brushing off of Yang’s. Blake closed her eyes, feeling the gentle caress of Yang’s lips upon her own. It felt different. More tender and filled with something more. Blake’s hand instinctively moved to cup Yang’s jaw, but this time she left her fingers holding up her chin, her thumb gently pressing into her jaw, giving her the option to pull away if it was too much. 

The blonde hesitantly pulled back, a small, audible smack of their lips disconnecting rang out as she did so. She didn’t go far though, her nose still rested against Blake’s, her eyes closed, enjoying how close they were. Blake’s thumb drew small circles on her jawline, leaving a trial of goosebumps in her wake. “We can talk tomorrow- or _not talk_ and you can ask me questions about books I tell you to read,” they both giggled. “Don’t worry about it so much, there’s no pressure,” Blake reassured her. 

Yang subtly nodded, the movement tickling Blake’s nose. “ _Okay_...” she exhaled, not knowing she had been holding in a breath “sounds good.” She felt like she could breathe again. The dark circles under Yang’s eyes, that have been present since early Monday morning, weren’t lost on Blake. She wanted nothing more than to pull Yang inside, to lie down and fall asleep together. Safe and cozy. 

“You’ve gotta go home Yang,” she giggled, noticing that the blonde didn’t have any intention of pulling away. She laughed and relented, still holding onto the window frame as she pulled back. “Goodnight Blake,” she said, smiling. 

“Goodnight Yang.”

Upon hearing that, she was already climbing down off of the roof, Blake could hear a thump as she hit the ground. Could hear her shoes crunching across the grass. She closed her window again, pulling the blinds and held the bouquet of flowers up to her nose, smiling against them. 

Red tulips. 

It might’ve just been coincidence, it might have been fate, and Blake might have just been listening to Pyrrha too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading folks, my fav chapter to write so far. Especially the last part :)
> 
> Uh also I’m on twitter and tumblr as @shoyousugar if anyone wants to come say hey, I’m always open to that.


	15. Exhaustion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What can I say other than Yang’s really tired and lovestruck

Yang woke up feeling infinitely better than she had all week. She winced as she rolled over on her mattress, the bed creaking as she did so. She had scraped her leg jumping off of the roof last night, scratching up an old wound that had no business resurfacing.

“YANG, BREAKFAST!”

She groaned and buried her head under her pillow. She might have felt better but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t rather stay in bed, there was nothing better. Actually no, lying in bed with Blake would be better...

The blonde decided to get up out of bed, the idea of seeing Blake soon winning over the thought of staying in bed.

She was still lazily pulling her hoodie on as she got downstairs, ponytail swaying back and forth as she bounced down the steps. She was aware her dad was speaking to her, asking about waffle toppings, she just nodded. Yang was a little preoccupied with typing one handed. 

**Yang:** can I pick u up?

**Blake:** I would’ve said yes but I’m with Weiss, it’s a long story

**Yang:** will I still c u l8r tho? :(((

**Blake:** of course 

“Ruby your girlfriend’s an ass,” Yang remarked, leaning back in her chair, arm thrown over the back of the wooden frame. 

**Yang:** can’t believe you’d do this to me me :(((

**Weiss:** don’t be so dramatic

“What’d she do?” Ruby asked, sliding a plate and cutlery across the table to Yang, settling her own down in front of her. “She stole Blake before I had a chance to pick her up.” She exaggerated a pout as she cut into her waffles, the different types of berries on top of it falling onto the plate at the sides. Ruby laughed and shook her head, amused by her sisters antics.

Tai was rushing around the kitchen, the clattering of dishes could be heard as they were tossed into the sink. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to both of his daughters heads, Qrow chuckled as he tapped a cigarette off of the table. “Not gonna kiss me goodbye?” Qrow said jokingly, his lips pulled into a smirk.

“Not if you’re gonna light that thing up in here,” Tai growled, already leaving the kitchen. The sound of the front door falling shut could be heard and Tai was gone. “Well isn’t he all rainbows and sunshine this early,” Qrow muttered. His eyes flicked up to Yang and the two of them stared at each other. This felt... odd.

“How was you’re drive?” He said, his tone doing more than implying that she didn’t just go on a drive. Yang shrugged casually, determined not to give anything away, “It was alright I guess.”

“I hope you didn’t wake up your girlfriend,” she made a choking sound, _fuck_ , “You really are Tai’s daughter.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and picked up the dishcloth from the table, throwing it at Qrow to convey that she wanted him to shut up. “You spoke to Blake?” Ruby asked, her eyes gleaming. “Kind of, not really,” she couldn’t describe it to herself never mind to her sister. It all played out like a dream, somehow both exciting and terrifying. She just knew Blake would be the death of her. That girl had so much power over her it genuinely made her knees weak- and that was inappropriate for the dinner table.

“Well, as much as I love _love_ , I can’t watch this for any longer,” Qrow moaned in pain, his back cracking as he stood and stretched. “Ruby are you driving with me or Yang?”

“You, I’m scared Yang will throw me off the bike.”

“ _Hey_! That was _one_ time!”

* * *

Weiss stood next to Blake, who was carefully signing someone’s petition for the school to put more funding into the schools supplies. Weiss signed it as well, the kid who had handed the sheet to them smiled and walked away. For Beacon having such a good reputation, there was no budget for school supplies. It had gotten to the point where Blake and Yang had to buy their own English textbooks because the school didn’t have enough. 

“I can’t believe she turned up at my house.”

“I can, it’s Yang, she’s the definition of impulsive,” Weiss said, her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets. Blake would’ve commented on how it was very obviously Ruby’s jacket but she knew Weiss would just say something that would wake the butterflies in her stomach. It was far too early to be blushing. “Yeah but... I don’t know, I just didn’t expect that,” Blake said, smiling to herself. She kept replaying Yang’s late night visit in her head, over and over, unable to stop smiling.

“Surprised?” Weiss questioned and raised an eyebrow at her. “No, I just expected it to take longer.” Blake let out a huff of a laugh. She wasn’t lying, she expected Yang to take a week or two to reevaluate her life before speaking to her. She glanced over at Weiss, who was waving at her slightly as they parted ways. It was also possible that Weiss gave Yang a kick in the ass to get her moving. Blake laughed to herself and shook her head.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she reached her hand up to open her locker. 

**Ilia:** so I don’t have to walk u today?

**Blake:** nope, my friend weiss drove me

**Ilia:** thank god I felt like ur mom or smfn

**Ilia:** I’ve g2g some guy just spilled coffee everywhere but I’ll text u when I’m on break

Blake smiled at her phone, the image of Ilia rushing to clean up was weirdly funny to her, her other hand was idly spinning the dial on her locker. She swung it open-

“Hey-“

She felt the locker door vibrate as it smacked off of something, she pulled it back quickly, stuffing her phone in her pocket. Yang stood at the other side of the locker holding her nose and laughing. “Sorry, are you okay?!” Blake said, a little bit of panic seeping as she saw how red Yang’s nose was when she pulled her hand away. “ _Yeah_ , yeah, I’m fine!” Yang held her hands out in front of her, waving them around frantically. Blake was thankful the hallway was mostly empty because this looked like a mess.

“Sorry for turning up last night by the way, I didn’t wake your parents did I?” Yang sheepishly scratched the back of her head with all of the confidence of someone who hadn’t just gotten smacked in the face. Blake pulled her backpack off of her shoulder, exchanging things between her bag and locker. “No, strangely enough they didn’t hear a thing.” She flicked her eyebrows. She didn’t need to look at Yang to see her relieved expression.

“Were the flowers okay? You know for a second I thought they were overkill-“ Blake stopped listening and let Yang ramble, giggling to herself. When she first met the blonde she would never have imagined that she would be a nervous rambler. “Yang.” Blake reached her hand out, gently taking one of Yang’s hands that were waving in the air. The blonde immediately quietened, her attention shifting to the girl beside her.

“I loved the flowers,” she smiled and let out a small giggle, “Just relax, I’m glad you came by last night.” Yang blinked a few times and turned to lean against the lockers, folding her arm across her chest, leaving the other one dangling in the air so Blake could hold her hand. Her lips upturned into a cocky, lopsided smile, “Yeah?”

“Yeah...”

They both choked on air when they realised they had been staring at each other for a few seconds too long. Blake pulled her hand back and pretended to look for something in her locker, she realised this was the second day in a row she had used this excuse. Yang tongued her bottom lip, gently rapping her knuckles off of the locker, trying to come up with something else to say. She could say a lot right now.

“Can we go out later?” Yang asked, but Blake knew that really meant ‘Can we talk? Can I tell you everything that’s on my mind?’ She picked up on the Xiao-Long subtext quickly. “Of course,” Blake said softly, finally closing over her locker. She held the strap on her shoulder firmly, biting her bottom lip. Yang chuckled and pushed herself up off of the locker, her arm lazily draping over Blake’s shoulder.

“How’s your week been?” She said like it was the most natural thing in the world. Blake audibly exhaled and her face lit up. “Well I found out Ilia’s working at this cafe _and_ she has a girlfriend now, they’re both-“ Blake continued rambling on, gushing about her friend. Yang kept nodding so that Blake would know she was listening.

The way Blake’s face had brightened warmed Yang’s heart. It made her feel immensely worse for how she’d treated her this week. She found herself falling for her more and more. 

* * *

“Since when do you two come here?” Blake asked, eyebrows furrowing at the odd sight in front of her.

Ruby and Nora sat side by side, papers strewn out across the table. Blake had barely ever saw them inside the library, in fact she was almost certain she had never seen Ruby in the library for the short time that she’d been here. “I really need to study for my biology exam,” Ruby whined, her fingers woven through the strands of her hair. Nora shrugged, “I’m just here because I don’t want to go to class.”

“Which class?”

“Geography, Neptune’s in my class.”

“You’ve got a substitute teacher.”

”Blake, do you actually work here or something?” Ruby chuckled.

”No, I just saw whilst I was walking past,” Blake said as she settled her bag down onto the table, sitting down across from the other two girls. Nora’s eyes widened and she grinned, kicking her feet off of the table. “I’m going then, sorry,” she said, not at all sorry as she was sprinting out of the door. Blake laughed and shook her head in disbelief. 

“I feel like you live in this library,” Ruby commented as she dragged herself back from her papers, arms thrown back and stretching out. “I’m missing a class from my timetable so I have a few extra periods,” she said. Ruby’s eyes twinkled with some sort of childish glee. “Cool! I wish I had more free periods so I could maybe go running,” she said and Blake could see Ruby’s brain moving to draw up different ideas of what she could do during more free periods. 

“It’s not that much fun, it gets boring.” She reached into her bag, pulling a book out and opening it in her lap. She had to smile as she ran her thumb over the cover, it was one of the books that Yang had given her the week before. “Does it get boring because you’re by yourself or because you don’t have anything to do?” Ruby asked, a genuine curiosity crossing her face. 

“Kind of both, like right now isn’t boring because you’re here-“ Ruby beamed “-but if I was by myself I would probably be bored because I don’t have much to do right now.” 

“You wouldn’t study?”

“I’m putting that off until the last minute.”

“Yeah, that’s what I did and now I’m panicking,” Ruby nervously scratched at her neck. Blake thought that, unlike Yang, she would be a good student and actually try hard for her studies. Apparently not. “What do you usually get in biology?” 

“An A.“

Blake blinked in disbelief. Maybe it was this backwards thing that ran in their family where they thought success was failure. She remembered Yang saying that she got a B in her classes and considering that bad. “So why are you panicking?” She asked, genuinely baffled. “It gives me something to do so I don’t get bored.” She shrugged. Blake wasn’t aware that anxiety was also a pastime. Ruby quietly went back to her studies and Blake grabbed at her phone, seeing some texts she’d missed from earlier. 

**Ilia:** the douche who spilled the coffee tried to get my number

**Ilia:** he looked so unfazed after he spilled that on himself

**Blake:** tried to get your number so you could come over and clean up more coffee stains at his house 

**Ilia:** a natural comedian 

She glanced over at the door as it swung open, Nora and Neptune walking in looking rather glum. Blake raised her eyebrow, “What happened?”

“We got kicked out because we tried to play mini water polo.” 

That was, undoubtedly, the strangest thing Blake had ever heard in her life. 

“I’m sorry _what_?” She said. Neptune stepped forward, his hair bobbing flawlessly, an answer ready on his tongue. “Basically you get a tub of water, something small to act as a ball, then use your fingers to play.” 

“And you are the _worst_ person to try play with!” Nora groaned, pulling a chair back and flopping down in her previous position next to Ruby. Neptune visibly shivered. “I don’t know what to tell you, water’s dangerous.” 

“Explain how water is dangerous-“

“Do you know how many people drown a year?!” Nora rolled her eyes and Blake visibly cringed at how enthusiastic he was about this point. “Over _three thousand_! And that’s just in Vale!” Neptune yelled, his face getting redder by the second, Blake didn’t know if that was from embarrassment or anger. Possibly both judging by the way he was clenching his teeth. 

Neptune held his hands out in front of himself, opening and closing them as he sucked in a breath. “My apologies, I’ve had a shitty day,” he said softly, pulling the chair out to sit down next to Blake. She noticed a stain on his jacket and then a thought occurred to her. “Did you spill coffee this morning?” She asked bluntly. 

“Yeah, Sun took me to this cafe- the idiot knocked the coffee out of my hand!” His brows furrowed and he actually looked angry now as he gripped at the stained part of his jacket “I can’t believe him, then this cute barista came over to clean it up, naturally I asked for her number but-“

“You got shot down?”

“Yeah...”

“ _Shocker_.” Nora deadpanned, rolling her eyes as she leaned back, tossing her arms behind her head. 

**Blake:** did the guy have blue hair, red jacket? 

**Ilia:** gonna guess u know him

“That barista was my friend Ilia, she’s gay so that’s probably why she wasn’t interested in you,” Blake spoke, not needing to look up from her phone to see that Neptune was full of himself now. “I think Sun mentioned that now that I think about it,” Neptune said, his hand moving to hold his chin thoughtfully. He was always so theatrical with his words and movements. 

**Blake:** that’s Neptune he’s actually really nice

**Ilia:** he’s a fuckboy

**Blake:** you don’t even know him 

**Ilia:** he’s good looking, way too confident and asked for my number, he’s a fuckboy

Blake rolled her eyes and tossed her phone in her pocket, she couldn’t be bothered to do this back and forth with Ilia right now. Ruby began sloppily gathering up her papers, all of them gathered together in one messy bundle. “At least you didn’t get burned, I remember when Yang got burned and she complained about healing it,” Ruby said, stuffing her things inside her bag. 

Blake physically recoiled from the mention of Yang having been burned. The bell rang out and she missed her chance to inquire more about that. She supposed she could just ask Yang herself, today was all about talking after all. 

* * *

Yang would have screamed if she could’ve at how bored she was right now. 

Her English teacher had decided to switch up the seating arrangement, which meant she now sat across the class, tables away from Blake. Which sucked, because that was the only reason she liked coming to this class. She could only listen to Goodwitch talking for so long. Her practice questions were long forgotten as she sat staring blankly at her paper, music blaring through one of her earphones. 

The paper wasn’t as blank as her thoughts were right now, so she could at least get away with sparing a few minutes. She leaned her cheek on her hand, staring back down at her next question. ‘Discuss the principal means by which political issues are explored-‘ _nope_ , she wiped her face with her other hand. She didn’t have politics today so she refused to do any politics related work. It just so happened that good ol’ Glynda had given them an article on the four kingdoms political systems and a set of questions alongside it. 

No, she needed another moment before she could continue. She wiped her face with her hand again and looked up. She looked over at Blake who was chatting away with... she didn’t actually know who that girl was. She wanted to say octopus but that obviously wasn’t her name. Olivia? No, no- _Octavia_! She clicked her fingers, happy that she had finally gotten the girls name. She felt a smile crawling onto her face upon seeing Blake looking so happy, content even. 

She wished she was still the person who sat next to her, who would be making her laugh like that right now. Maybe that was weird, or a little clingy in all honesty, she didn’t care. The soft sounds coming from Yang’s earphones only soothed her and spurred on her thoughts, content in the idea that she wouldn’t be caught staring. 

_ I have no chance to survive this _

_ When I felt the direct hit of your lips  _

That idea was fleeting when Blake glanced over, smiling a little more warmly when she caught her gaze. Yang didn’t turn away or pretend she hadn’t been staring, she smiled wider herself and puckered her lips to blow a kiss. Blake giggled and rolled her eyes, pretended to catch the kiss she’d blown. Yang giggled herself. 

_ And baby, I’m ruined  _

_ At the hands of a woman  _

_ You must know what you’re doing  _

_ How to ruin a man like me _

Octavia demanded Blake’s attention again, leaning against her and showing her whatever she had just written down. Yang still didn’t look away, transfixed by the way Blake smoothly tucked stray strands of hair behind her ears. Enamoured by the way each piercing that littered her ears twinkled in what little light the classroom had. Captivated by the glossy shine of her lips and how her faunus ears fluttered around when she spoke. 

Yang realised the last thought was a little inappropriate, but she was tired and that was her excuse for it. Admittedly it was her own fault that she was tired, if it hadn’t been for her late night jaunts she wouldn’t be. But she would do it again. 

‘ _I do love her,_ ’ she thought, and she couldn’t think of any reason why she had tried to convince herself otherwise. 

Blake looked back over at her, pouting and blushing, a smile trying not to push through. “Stop it,” she mouthed, Yang bit her lip and a laugh bubbled out of her. “Why?” She mouthed back, sucking on her front teeth to try and hold back her obvious grin. “It’s embarrassing,” Blake mouthed back, her cheeks tinted pink, now hiding her face behind her hands to try and cool herself down. 

Yang tried to look away, get back on track with what she was doing, but she inevitably raised her head up again, finding that she couldn’t actually look away from Blake. 

* * *

“Nora!” Yang screeched as she tossed the ball, her arm beginning to ache as she tossed it across the field. She regretted choosing today as the day to practice their aim because that seemed to be even more exhausting than practicing against each other. If she was running around she could just let her body carry her. But standing still like this, focusing in on a single person and concentrating on how far she wanted to toss the ball. 

_That_ was tiring. It didn’t help that she was already exhausted and just wanted to go get Blake, then go home. 

“Coco what time’s it?” Yang asked, looking over at her friend. The brunette grabbed her phone off of the bleachers, then turned back to her. “Three-fifty, forty minutes left.” Coco beamed and caught a ball that flew at her flawlessly. Yang nodded and gave her a thumbs up, thanking her... before immediately being smacked in the head by a ball that Nora had tossed back at her. 

She was knocked back slightly, taken aback by the sudden force of the ball bouncing off of her helmet. Pyrrha flew across the field, her motherly instincts kicking in at the sight of one of her kids being hurt. Coco and Nora were laughing their asses off. “Yang are you okay?!” Pyrrha cried, slowing down to a jog. Yang nodded and fixed her helmet, holding one of her hands out, “I’m fine, thanks Pyrrha.” 

“Are you sure?” Pyrrha asked, grabbing hold of Yang’s wrist. She inspected the blondes face, from the dark circles under her eyes to the content look on her face. Pyrrha blinked, then smiled and walked away, accepting that Yang really was fine. 

They continued their practice for what felt like forever. Catch, throw, catch, throw. Yang wanted to leave, she was tired, she just wanted to go see Blake now. She turned to Coco again. “What time’s it?” She asked, her eyelids growing heavy under the already setting sun, casting an orange glow over the field. “Four o’ five,” the brunette replied, tossing a ball to her. She caught it this time. 

They went back to practicing. Toss, catch, toss, catch, toss, catch. 

She turned to a Coco again. “What’s time’s-“

“Yang, you can leave if you want,” Coco chuckled, taking the moment of respite to pull her helmet off, running her hand through her brown hair. “No I... just want to know the time.”

“It’s four-ten,” Coco cocked her hip out, placing on hand on her hip, “dude, you look exhausted-“ _she was_ “-just go.” Yang let out a sigh and dragged her helmet off, her feet falling heavy against the grass. How was she so tired? Coco patted Yang on the back as she began to walk her towards the school building. 

“Are you sure-“

“Yang, we’re almost done, _don’t worry_. Just leave the key at my locker.”

“Wait, _no_ , you’ll lose the key-“

“ _I’ll give it to Velvet!_ ” Coco argued, opening the door for Yang to go inside to the locker room. Yang chuckled airily and shook her head, she appreciated her friends looking out for her. Which seemed to be happening a lot this week. 

Yang got changed, not as quickly as she had the day before, she just took her time. Doing it at her own pace. She could afford to do that right now. As promised, she opened up Coco’s locker and threw the locker room keys inside. She remembered when they first gave each other their codes when Coco was too hungover to remember her own. Yang thought it was only fair to give Coco her code as well.

Her phone began to vibrate in her locker, the metal buzzing loudly. Startled, Yang darted back across the room to grab her phone, answering without even glancing at the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey kid, what you up to?”

‘ _Oh_...’ Yang thought, she certainly hadn’t expected her mom to call her now. “Uh, nothing... I’m just getting out of practice,” she said awkwardly, grabbing her bag and getting ready to leave. “Cool, working hard or hardly working?”

‘ _Hardly working,_ ’ she thought as she pushed the door open, reminded that she was the only person leaving from any after school stuff early. “Workin’ hard, as hard as I can anyway,” she chuckled, listening in on the echo of her shoes against the floor.

“How’s you’re girlfriend? Still with her?”

Yang frowned, not entirely fond of how she worded it like she shouldn’t still be with Blake. 

“Yep, going to get her right now,” she snarked, acting as if she was rubbing it in her face. Although she felt like she shouldn’t have to be rubbing anything in her mother’s face, that wasn’t a mother daughter thing. “Ahh, okay...” Yang clenched her jaw, this was starting to piss her off now “Are you free this weekend? We could go grab something to eat again,” Raven said cheerfully.

Yang’s hand ran along the edge of the wall, stopping on the library door handle. She glanced through the door to Blake and Velvet. Velvet going through her camera roll _again_ and Blake reading, _again_ , and looking so peaceful. “I’ll text you later and let you know,” She said, pushing open the door.

“Alright, hear from you later!”

She put her phone in her pocket, so now her full attention belonged to Blake. One of her cat ears flicked at the sound of the door opening and she looked up, eyebrows furrowed. “You’re early,” Blake said, closing her book over her thumb to keep the page marked. “Yeah, Coco’s got it covered so I thought ‘hey, why not take a stroll up to the library.’” Yang grinned, the muscles in her cheeks strained, too tired to smile.

“You two can go if you like, I’m just waiting for Coco,” Velvet said, not looking away from her camera. Blake raised her eyebrow at her, “I’m not gonna leave you here alone.”

“No, seriously it’s fine! Just go,” Velvet said, giggling and trying to wave them off. Yang and Blake side eyed each other, the brunettes behaviour striking them both as odd. Yang shrugged and reached down, grabbing Blake’s bag and tossing it over her shoulder. “Okay, I’ll text you later Velv,” Blake said, waving at her as the two of them left.

Velvet watched the two of them leave, only letting herself smile when the door closed behind them. She grabbed her phone. 

**Velvet:** we totes did that

**Coco:** hell ye we did

**Coco:** taking full credit for this anyway

**Velvet:** should we be matchmakers instead?

**Coco:** the chocolate or the job? 

* * *

Blake held onto Yang, her head resting against the top of her back, enjoying the feeling of being close to her, the warmth on her cheek.

“Are you sure you’re alright to drive?” Blake asked, nose nuzzling Yang’s jacket in some effort to soothe her. “I’m not that tired, where are we going by the way?”

“My place? No offence but your house is super loud.”

“I was hoping you’d say that because I don’t want to deal with twenty questions from my dad.” Yang laughed and revved the engine, signalling that there was no room for debate. They were going to Blake’s house. Weirdly, Yang missed her daily ‘hello’ to Kali.

They spun around the corner, Blake’s house in sight and Yang raised her eyebrow at Blake’s parents packing their car in the driveway. The bike slowed to a crawl. “Are they going somewhere?” Yang asked, slight concern sparking inside her. Why was she concerned? “Yeah, I forgot to mention they’re going to Mistral for a few days,” Blake said, as if that was a normal thing to say.

The blonde’s heel connected with the kickstand, parking the bike. Blake jumped off, Yang following after her then leaned back against the bike. “So... you’re gonna be here, _alone_ , for a few days?”

“Yeah... _yeah I guess..._ ” The raven haired girl said quietly, her ears flicking back. Yang reached her hand out, gently taking hold of it, running circles in her palm with her thumb to reassure her. Reassure her of _what_? What was she even thinking anymore. “Blake!” Kali’s voice rang out. Blake began walking towards the driveway, Yang hadn’t let go of her hand so she guessed that she was going with her.

“There’s money left in the kitchen drawer, spare keys, an emergency phone-“

“Mom, I’m gonna be fine,” Blake laughed. Kali pouted and rounded the car, enveloping her daughter in a hug. “Yang, are you staying?” She asked, not pulling back from her daughter who looked stiffer than a board in this hug. “Uh...” she didn’t know how to answer that, “I don’t know, Blake _am I staying_?” She smirked.

‘ _Good move, answer a question with a question but make it look like you already have an answer._ ’ Mentally high-fived herself.

Kali chuckled and rolled her eyes, finally releasing Blake. She took a few steps backwards towards the car, her hand resting on the roof. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Kali asked, her ears flipping backwards and Yang would one day express how much she likes their cat ears but today was not that day. 

“I can look after myself.” Blake folded her arms and shrugged. Both of her parents gave her an unconvinced look. Yang laughed, smiling softly, “I’ll look after her.” Kali smiled back, something warm and fuzzy, appreciative. Ghira nodded solemnly and Yang figured that was his equivalent.

They got in the car, reversing out of the driveway. Kali waved and blew kisses, Blake could only laugh and wave back. “Why are they going to Mistral?” Yang asked, Blake already leading her by the hand into the house. “My dad has a few meetings with the White Fang and my moms having a spa weekend.” Yang laughed aloud, “Of course.”

The door clicked shut behind them and Yang suddenly felt heavy, _tired_. Then she realised why she felt that way, this was her finally unwinding after the last few days. She had been going so fast all week, all of the extra practice, late nights and early mornings catching up as she finally slowed down.

“ _I’m so sorry,_ ” she said before she even knew she was talking. Blake still had her hand, guiding her to the living room, sitting her down on the sofa. She saw Blake’s eyes widen slightly, her ears tilting back, she reached her hand up wiping at Yang’s face. Was she crying?

“I was an asshole, because I was scared-“

“Scared of what?”

“Scared that you could hurt me,” Yang rasped, she realised she was crying. “But I forgot that I could hurt you too... and you deserve better...” Blake rubbed her cheek, she leaned into her touch. “I’m sorry- it’s just hard for me to do this...” Yang bit her lip and chuckled. “Is it because of your mom?” Blake asked. Yang nodded, “Kind of, my whole life I was told I needed to be strong, so now... it’s hard to be vulnerable.”

“I understand.”

“But it’s still shitty, I mean of all the people you ended up landed with-“

“I got the most complicated one?” Yang laughed and nodded. “Yeah, well I guess I should’ve seen that one coming.”

“Blake, let me try to give you something... better,” Blake smiled and giggled, “I love you...”

“Have you ever considered acting?”

“I’m here telling you that I’m in love with you and you’re asking if I’ve ever considered acting?”

“Yeah, because of that happy go lucky act you put on for everybody,” Blake said smugly, leaning back on the sofa, Yang followed her movements, twisting sideways so she could look at her. Yang laughed slightly, “Never saw that one coming.”

“I love you and all the dumb ways you try to embarrass me- please _never_ blow kisses from across the class again.” Yang laughed, loud and bubbly, she had enjoyed doing that earlier. “Couldn’t help it, you looked cute,” Yang said, shrugging. “Anything else we should talk about before I pass out from exhaustion?” She joked (not really).

A blank look was cast across Blake’s face, which then twisted to something else, Yang’s brain was too muddled to decipher it. “I saw Adam getting arrested this week.” Yang’s eyes widened and suddenly she was very much awake. “I was just passing to go see Ilia and... he was getting out in the back of a squad car.”

Yang’s arm slithered up until it was loosely draped over Blake’s waist, letting her know she was here. “Did he see you?” She asked, fearing the answer to that. “Yeah, shouting that it was my fault, it’s fine though, at least he’s gone.” She shrugged. Yang was stuck on the part where she had said this had happened earlier this week.

This happened whilst Yang was being... _however_ she was being. And Blake might have needed her, yet she was being... selfish. That’s what it was wasn’t it? Just her being selfish?

“Have you ever considered acting?” Yang smirked, Blake raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s fine if he got under your skin-“

“No it’s not...”

“It is! It’s fine if shit like that happens and you need to come to me.”

“Yeah well...” Blake shrugged, “I couldn’t.” Yang sighed and leaned further forward, her forehead resting against Blake’s. “I’m sorry... if it helps I don’t think my moms all that I thought she would be... I think that’s kinda why I couldn’t tell you that I loved you.”

“You never told me how meeting her went,” Blake said, a hopeful little gleam in her eye that Yang would tell her. “She was acting like I should be this cool stud-“ Blake snorted, gaining a push on her shoulder “-acting as if I’m too cool to have a girlfriend or something, it was a weird conversation.” The faunus nodded, letting out a little grunt as she pushed herself up, sliding over the sofa until she was straddling Yang’s lap, arms tossed over her shoulders.

“Well call her and tell her that you’re girlfriend is ten times cooler than you,” she chuckled against Yang’s lips. The blonde closed her eyes, letting Blake’s lips settle against hers in a slow, burning kiss. “ _I love you..._ ” Yang murmured and she could feel how Blake’s smile widened, her heart raced. That made it worth showing weakness.

She still couldn’t stop thinking about the thing with Adam, how she should’ve been there, because that’s why she started driving Blake home in the first place. She was scared, trying to get away from this psycho. Yang felt like she should’ve been there or at least been available to call. Maybe that’s why she felt the need to reassure Blake, to express to her that it was fine, she would keep her safe. Maybe that’s why she felt so badly as well, because she had experienced an awful boyfriend and didn’t need it from Yang as well.

“So...” Blake said, pulling back from Yang, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “It’s gonna be _really lonely_ for me, being here all weekend, by myself.” Yang smirked, taking the hint. “Do you think there’s someone who might be willing to stay here _all weekend_ with you?”

“Is there?”

“I think so, although that person might need to go pack some things so they can stay over.” 

Blake smiled at her and sat back on her knees, placing her hands on Yang’s shoulders to balance herself. Her fingers danced along the fabric of her jacket, leaving a pleasant tingling sensation in their wake. Yang’s hands came up to rest on her waist, digging slightly into skin as she trailed her hands up and down, she noticed tiny little lumps on Blake’s hip.

She watched Blake gulp, one of her hands come down from Yang’s shoulder, holding her hand where it lay over those little bumps that Yang couldn’t see. “Have I told you why I moved here?” Blake said, knowing full well that she hadn’t disclosed that information yet. Yang shook her head, struggling to keep her eyes open but making sure she was still listening.

“Me and a bunch of people from the White Fang were out drinking, and I said to Adam I didn’t like how he was handling everything, that he was too violent,” Blake chuckled bitterly, “of course he argued back and said that I hadn’t saw violence...” Yang blinked a few times, sat up a little straighter.

“What did he do?”

“Smashed his beer bottle...” the faunus girls ears tilted back, “he stabbed me, then told everyone that I did it to myself to get his attention.” Yang’s other hand, that wasn’t resting over what she assumed to be her scar, came up to rest at the top of Blake’s back. She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Blake’s jaw. “Can I see?” She asked.

Blake’s hands moved to unbutton her jeans, followed by the sound of her fly unzipping. She folded the fabric back and swallowed again. The blonde pulled back just enough that she could look down and her heart clenched. Her thumb ran over the raised skin, discoloured and tainted. “I’m sorry... you deserve-“

“ _Better?_ ”

Yang chuckled and leaned her head against Blake’s chest. “Yeah... I just wish you didn’t have to go through that- wait so did he follow you out here from Menagerie?”

“Yeah, after I got out of the hospital I tried to break up with him then he said I didn’t have to because he was coming to Vale too, as you can imagine I was _over the moon_.” They both chuckled. Yang closed her hand over the scar, her palm rubbing the coarse skin underneath, hoping it would soothe it, possibly return it to the smooth and perfect way she knew it should be. “I wouldn’t hurt you like that,” she said.

The blonde pulled all the way back until she was leaning against the sofa again, deciding that she should probably detach herself from Blake at some point. Blake smiled and traced her thumb over Yang’s bottom lip, her lips twisted into a smile. “What if I like it?” Blake teased, hand trailing to Yang’s jaw, leaning forward to plant another kiss. She yelped when Yang’s hand came down to smack her ass.

“You’re _so_ not funny,” she laughed, pushing her palm into Yang’s face. Blake swiftly got off of Yang’s lap before she could do anything else, not trusting the mischievous smile on her face. The blonde sighed and ran her hands through her hair, arms falling sideways and stretching. “Want to come with me?” She said, standing and reaching for her keys.

Blake raised her eyebrow, “Where are you going?”

“To get clothes so I can stay here this weekend.”

“Right! I forgot. Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Blake hooped up, following after Yang. The blonde giggled, “Blake, your pants.” The raven haired girl spun around and fixed her jeans, clearly embarrassed. Yang laughed lowly, almost evilly. Blake glared at her. 

* * *

The rest of the night flew by, although physically it felt like a slow blur, falling from place to place before finally landing in Blake’s bed. Yang lay on her back, propped up by pillows, one arm wrapped around Blake whilst the other rested behind her head. 

She still hadn’t slept. She wasn’t going to either, not until Blake was because she wanted to be present and enjoy how warm Blake felt lying against her. Blake had her laptop open and sitting in between them. She hadn’t really been listening when she said what movie it was, she only caught on to the ‘she read the book’ part. 

Blake tilted her head, half smirking as she let out a giggle. “You don’t have to stay up,” she said, Yang shook her head. “I can stay up a little longer,” she grinned, or at least tried her best. Blake sighed, accepting defeat for now, flicking her eyebrows as she turned back to watching the movie. Yang’s head involuntarily turned with her, face resting in her hair, nose nuzzling the space between her ears.

“You smell good,” she mumbled, her eyes closing. ‘ _Just for a minute,_ ’ she told herself. She knew that was a lie when she couldn’t manage to open her eyes again after a minute. “Instead of sniffing my hair, you could just _go to sleep,_ ” Blake giggled, purposefully flicking one of her ears against Yang’s cheek. Both ears then flopped forward at the sound of one of their phones vibrating against the wooden desk.

The blonde groaned and pulled back, hand stretching out to grab the vibrating phone. She already knew it was hers, she was just irritated that she had to move. 

**Raven:** so wot are we doin this weekend?

**Yang:** soz, i can’t maybe next week?

**Raven:** sure, talk later 

Yang lazily tossed her phone onto the desk, accidentally nudging the laptop as she tried to move back to her previous position. She lifted the laptop up, shifting around underneath the covers, the faunus girl adjusted herself so that she was lying on Yang’s shoulder. The blonde rubbed her face, trying to focus on whatever this movie was, she had seen a horse, did it have anything to do with a horse?

“I’m still gonna be here when you wake up,” Blake said softly, pressing a kiss to her neck. She bit back a smile once she discovered that had done the trick. The blonde’s body relaxed, once taut muscles now melting underneath her, minutes passed by and her breathing slowed. Blake sat up slightly, laughing quietly at the blonde’s content face as she slept.

“ _Unbelievable_ ,” she muttered, reaching down to close over the laptop, quietly sliding it down onto the carpet below. She placed a chaste kiss on Yang’s cheek, fingers waving through soft tufts of hair, “I love you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We do be getting fluffy tho, although I can’t guarantee it’ll be entirely innocent next chapter ;) 
> 
> U asked for it, so now I’m changing the rating and marking parts for people to skip if they so wish. 
> 
> Anyways, I’m off back to writing all quarantine!


	16. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake decides she wants a little control in her life and takes a delicate matter into her own hands... so she can put it into Yang’s hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: this do be the explicit chapter which I have marked with the beginning and end of that section with ** if anyone wants to skip it.
> 
> Also iwl the chapter is just inappropriate jokes and fluff in general but that’s the usual from me isn’t it?

As soon as Blake woke up, she realised two things. The first was that Yang had not moved from the position she had fallen asleep in, which was remarkable in itself. She was sure that Yang would have a crick in her neck now though. The second thing was that Yang had lied to her, she _did_ snore!

It wasn’t loud, but loud enough to annoy her. Blake pinched her nose, glancing over at the little digital clock on her desk for the time. Yang made a disgruntled noise, followed by some incoherent mumbling, Blake let go of her nose. “We’ve gotta get up soon,” she said, her hand rubbing Yang’s shoulder.

“No.”

“What do you mean _no_?”

“Can’t get up, too comfy,” Yang murmured, slowly rolling over until her body was crowding Blake’s, her head tucked into Blake’s shoulder. She giggled and leaned her head against Yang’s, despite her complaints, it was a nice way to wake up. “By the way, you _do_ snore,” she said, unable to resist saying it. She felt Yang’s huff of a laugh on her skin, “I don’t snore.” 

Blake lightly slapped her hand on Yang’s back, “Get up.” Yang laughed again and rolled off of her, but still didn’t move to get out of bed, lying on her back with this mischievous pouty-smile that made Blake’s heart skip a beat. The faunus girl tried to get out of bed, slide over Yang and crawl out, she only got one leg out before she was being dragged back under the covers, the blonde pulling her onto her lap. “It’s seven-“

“ _It’s seven?!_ Why the hell are you getting up?” Yang cringed, hands clinging to Blake’s waist, stopping her from going anywhere. She wasn’t trying to anyway, if she wanted to she would already be up and ready. Yang leaned forward in an attempt to kiss her, only for Blake to slightly move away, dodging her lips. She laughed at Yang’s multiple failed attempts, resulting in the two of them just bumping their noses together. “Because getting ready, making breakfast _and_ getting to school takes longer than half an hour,” She said, chest tightening as Yang’s hands raked up and down her back.

“ _Or_ we can get breakfast on the way and save some time.” Blake finally relented and let Yang kiss her, trailing from her mouth to her neck. Blake let out a shaky exhale, definitely not how she expected her morning to go. Yang pulled back, eyes wide and she whined. The blonde blushed and Blake felt her grip purposefully loosen on her waist. “Sorry... I got carried away,” she said, eyes flicking back and forth between Blake and the wall.

“Should we... also talk about eventually...” Blake’s face was getting redder at the idea of it, Yang was clearly on the same page as her judging by the look on her face. “Yeah... uh, _no pressure_ \- you know that right?”

“Yeah- _yeah_ obviously.”

“You know just as long as your comfortable and stuff...”

“Yeah and it could happen whenever- _maybe this weekend_ or... _y’know_ ,” Blake gulped and Yang nodded, making an effort to not nod too enthusiastically. “Yes... that is... _possible_.” Yang said, biting her lip.

Blake put an end to the conversation, tucking her face into Yang’s shoulder. Yang smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple, her hand gliding up Blake’s back, dull nails trailing across smooth skin. “I’ve got work today...” the blonde said, as if she reminding herself. Blake whined, going limp in Yang’s arms. “Can’t you just let yourself go broke?”

“But then how else could I buy you breakfast?” Blake pushed herself up, sliding out of the bed before Yang could protest. “No, I’m making toast.“

“You would rather toast than some nice, _delicious_ breakfast.”

“ _Yes_ , you keep buying me food!”

“What’s so wrong with that?!” Yang questioned, already up and chasing after Blake, banging her toe off of the doorframe in her rush to catch up. She followed Blake down to the kitchen, regretting her decision the moment her feet smacked against the cold, tiled floor.

Here’s the thing, Yang didn’t exactly do the whole cooking food kind of stuff. Apart from frozen food and cereal, she honestly didn’t make her own food. But toast was her speciality. She spent her entire life so far perfecting the art, golden slices that Ruby used to demand every morning. 

This morning however, she leaned against the counter, letting Blake float around freely, tossing slices of bread in the toaster. Yang was _amazed_ by the fancy four slice toaster. She folded her arms across her chest, content to just watch Blake do her thing. Like how she stood on her tiptoes to reach something, the muscles in her calves and thighs clenching. Blake smirked and glanced over, “Are you staring at my ass?”

Yang could only laugh in response, walking over to stand next to Blake as she popped the toast out of the toaster. “I was just thinking, _maybe_ I could have that for breakfast instead,” she shrugged casually, the raven haired girl giggled, picking out each individual slice of toast with her thumb and forefinger, waving her hand around after she was done.

“No wonder you burned yourself, you made goth toast.”

“What the hell is goth toast?”

“It’s as black as a goth’s soul-“ Blake burst out laughing, gripping onto the sleeve of Yang’s shirt, pressing her face into it as she giggled. Yang always felt a little swell of pride when Blake laughed at her jokes, extending to her expression as she smiled lopsidedly. “I like burning it a little.”

“ _A little?_ ”

“If you’re not eating it then I will,” Blake said, reaching over to grab two glasses. “What are we drinking?” Yang asked, moving to open the fridge, deciding she would make herself useful. “There’s orange and pineapple juice, have whatever,” Blake said, crunching into her toast as she leaned over the counter, head resting on one hand. 

Yang was so, unbelievably, tempted to make a joke about the pineapple juice. She decided she would be good and not do that, taking out the orange juice instead. “Do you just eat toast like that?” Yang said, wagging her finger at Blake. The raven haired girl raised her eyebrow and wiped the crumbs from her lips, “What’s wrong with it?”

“You just eat it... _dry_. Burnt and dry.”

“Yeah.”

“No,” Yang said, swinging the refrigerator door back open, “I’m putting butter on that for you.” 

“It’s not that bad!” Blake argued, the blonde shook her head and grabbed the tub of butter from the fridge, sliding over. “Leave my toast alone!” Blake giggled, smacking Yang’s hand away when she tried to take the bread from Blake’s hand. “No but, just hear me out-“

“Put butter on your own!”

“Listen, _just a little bit of butter_ \- c’mon it’ll _actually_ have a taste.” Blake twisted away, laughing as she bit into her breakfast, trying to keep away from the blonde. Yang laughed as well and wrapped an arm around her waist, butter discarded onto the counter as she tried to grab the bread from Blake’s hand, only to find that she had already finished eating. “That’s disgusting,” Yang said, shaking her head.

“That’s _delicious_.” Blake turned back around, her nose wrinkled as she laughed. Yang braced one of her hands against the counter, other hand still holding Blake’s waist. She bit her bottom lip, smiling, eyelashes fluttering as she looked between Yang’s eyes and her lips. The blonde took the hint, leaning down to press her lips against her, tenderly. “I might have a taste for your gross, dry toast now,” She said. Blake glanced over at her phone.

“We’re gonna be late.” 

* * *

Weiss’ eyes narrowed, eyebrows lowering with them, pristinely groomed and perfect for judging people.

“ _What_?” Yang asked, idly playing with the strap that hung off of Blake’s jacket, using it as a substitute for the girl not actually being there herself. “You look... _happy_.”

“It almost sounds like you don’t want me to be happy-“

“No I mean like... _too happy,_ ” Weiss said, blue eyes that almost looked artificial scanned over Yang. Sometimes she was convinced that Weiss was a robot, built to analyse other people and imitate them. It would explain how she could be so callous sometimes. “Oh yeah, I forgot to say she’s staying at Blake’s place for the weekend,” Ruby said, idly scrolling on her phone.

“Why?” Weiss, now eyeing the two sisters skeptically. “Her parents went to Mistral and I don’t want to leave her on her own-“

“Wait,” Weiss waved her hand around in the air, “ _Sorry_ , how did you go from not speaking to living with her.” Yang shrugged. She didn’t want to explain her reasoning behind it, because what could she really say? “I just, _y’know_ , want to spend time with her,” she said shyly, a light shade of pink rising on her cheeks. Weiss grinned and nudged her arm across the table, “ _Awwww_ , look at you getting all flustered.”

Yang could only chuckle at her own expense, hands coming up to cover her face. Someone sat down beside her. “What’s going on Schnee?” Coco’s voice rang out, the smugness in her tone was palpable. “Local stud, Yang Xiao-Long, is staying at her girlfriends all weekend so she can spend some _quality time_ with her whilst her parents are gone. She’s retaining the player status.” She could hear the grin in Weiss’ tone. Yang was familiar with this game they played.

They tease someone until their on the verge of dying from embarrassment, even if the thing wasn’t embarrassing to begin with. “ _Wow_... well isn’t that a plot twist,” Coco says. “You and Blake, alone _all weekend together_ , I wonder what’ll happen?” Yang wanted to sink into the floor. This had never been embarrassing for her before, it had always been casual, if anything she would usually joke with them. Obviously this was much different from all those other times.

She heard the melodic voice of Pyrrha singing a greeting as she walked over to the table. “What’s going on with her?” Pyrrha said, eyebrow raised and pointing at Yang. The redhead looked between Coco and Weiss, the two of them sharing the same evil look, if someone stuck a pair of horns and a tail on them they wouldn’t look any different right now. Pyrrha seemed to catch on as her mouth opened and closed, trying to form a sentence.

“Did you... use a condom?”

“ _Pyrrha_... that’s not what happened.”

“Oh... _remember to use a condom?_ ” Pyrrha said awkwardly, sitting down next to Weiss, a confused look on her face. Coco whipped her sunglasses off, eyebrows knitted together, “What the hell are they gonna put a condom on? Their fingers?-“

“I don’t know! Maybe?”

Coco nudged Yang’s shoulder, causing the blonde to look up, her blush finally fading, finding a new target for their game. “Pyrrha do you think we use fuckin’ latex gloves?” Coco and Yang laughed in unison, Pyrrha’s face began to go redder. The humiliation had transferred from Yang to Pyrrha and she was all too glad for the few moments respite.

Which didn’t last long as Blake sat down at the table, returning from her trip to the bathroom. 

“ _Blake!_ ” Coco’s eyes gleamed and Yang wanted to pick Blake up and run away. She hadn’t been hazed like this in such a long time that she had forgotten how awkward and uncomfortable it made her feel. “Yang said something about how you were gonna _get it_ this weekend?”

“ _What?!”_ Blake spluttered, heat rising in her cheeks. Coco’s grin widened, her mission complete. Yang sat up straight, hands waving in front of her, “No, don’t listen to her, she’s bullshitting you,” she said, which she thought would’ve sounded more convincing if she hadn’t been so defensive about it.

The brunette shook her head, “No I heard talk of blindfolds-“

“I cant take this anymore.” Yang stood up and left, walking off towards the bathroom whilst everyone else at the table was laughing, Blake included. Yang thought that she was really brave to be able to take a joke like that.   
  


Coco grinned, putting her sunglasses back on, proud of herself. “That’s _another_ point to Adel.”

* * *

Truthfully Blake had only just managed to escape from everyone’s teasing without her heart exploding. She never knew one of the most difficult moments of her life would be having to sit through Coco and Weiss’ sinister smirks, whilst Pyrrha sat there like an innocent lamb, all the while still chiming in.

All that hazing made her think, ‘ _hey, why not?_ ’ Her parents wouldn’t be around to burst in, they had all the free time they wanted. Plus it was Yang, she trusted her with this, obviously, and she was far past the point of worrying about rushing. She was pretty sure her and Yang didn’t know the meaning of slow anymore.

She found solace in the library, which was where she would be until Yang finished practice. She was all too glad that Velvet wasn’t here right now, replaced by silence and her own feet shuffling. Her phone buzzed.

**Ilia:** how’s ur day been?

**Blake:** weird 

**Ilia:** oh? 

**Blake:** are u on ur break

**Ilia:** blake belladonna using abbreviations? wot could get u in this state

**Ilia:** but ye i’m on break

Blake hit the call button, holding the phone up to her ear, curled up in the chair. “What’s up?” Ilia said, her voice quite quiet as it came across the phone. “Uh... so Yang’s staying over this weekend,” she said, her throat feeling tight as she spoke. Should she even be asking about this? It was a different kind of nervousness than she’d felt before. Something that made her lungs burn and her breathing shallow.

“ _And?_ ”

“Well I was thinking we could... _y’know_... but I don’t know _how_ to do that-“

She was cut off by Ilia’s laughter, she hung up, hand trembling against her phone from nerves. She dipped her head down, face palming, ears pinned back. Her phone rang again and she answered, but was not impressed by Ilia still laughing. “ _I’m_ \- I’m sorry, it is funny though,” she could imagine Ilia right now, savouring the moment as she laughed, fanning her face with her hand.

“Just do what comes naturally I guess, Yang seems cool I’m sure she’ll help,” Ilia said, and Blake rolled her eyes. The door opened and in came Velvet, holding what she knew to be Coco’s duffel bag. She waved at her. “You’re very helpful Ilia, I’m glad I came to you with this _very_ personal topic.”

“What the hell do you want me to say?! I can’t exactly coach you through it!”

“I know! I just thought you’d give me more than that,” Blake whined, fingers running through her fringe. She looked up to see Velvet sitting on the table, cross legged, one eyebrow raised at her. “Well, tell me how it goes I guess? Is that a thing people say?”

“Ilia, I have no idea.”

“Okay, well I’ve gotta go, bye!”

Blake pressed her tongue to the back of her teeth, sighing through her nose as she slid her phone down onto the table. Velvet let out a huff of a laugh, “Is this about that thing from this morning?” Blake’s face collapsed into her hands, the embarrassment got worse each time someone else got involved. Maybe she should stop involving people as well... “ _How_ do you even know, you weren’t there.”

“Coco tells me everything,” she shrugged, then her brows knitted together and she smirked. “I thought you guys were joking this morning?”

“Yeah... then I thought about it- _I hate this._ ” She chuckled dryly, biting into her bottom lip. Velvet laughed as well and suddenly Blake understood why Yang had to walk away from everyone today. “If you own lace, wear it- _oh_ , and Yang’s weirdly into other people wearing her clothes-“

“ _Why_ do you know this?”

“Coco.”

Blake let out a groan, drawing it out to emphasise how pained she was by this. Velvet rolled her eyes and giggled softly, “It’ll be fine, their jokes will be a little more bearable by Monday.”

“They’re never gonna drop this are they?”

“Blake, they have a specific seat they sit in _every_ time they go to the cinema because Weiss went on a date there once. They don’t drop anything.” Velvet said, smiling and shaking her head. Blake briefly wondered about all of the different things that have happened over the years, they all seem to have an endless supply of stories.

“If it makes you feel better, mine and Coco’s first time was in the back of my car,” she grimaced, scowling at nothing. “It wasn’t good...” Blake crossed her arms over her chest, letting her imagination do the work for her. “I always thought mine would be tasteful- candles and stuff like that.”

She looked at Velvet, who only grinned back at her. “I knew you didn’t need help,” she said, flicking her eyebrows and kicking up off of the table. Blake was amazed at her intuition. To be fair, she didn’t, at all, she was just nervous.

And rightly so. There was a gaggle of people now involved in her nonexistent sex life, she had to impress. 

* * *

“What do you need in town again?” 

“I’m getting some stuff to take to Ilia’s cafe.” Yang raised her eyebrow at her, still not entirely convinced that this was why she wanted to go into town. Blake smiled, hand rubbing over her opposing arm, “What time are you working until?”

“I get off at eight, Friday’s a boring shift because I need to work in the store.”

“There’s a store?”

“Yeah, when you were there you were at the side with the cars-“

“Really? I would never have noticed.”

“ _Shut up_ , anyways, the other side has a petrol station and a store where _I_ also work,” she said, placing her fingers flat on her chest, smirking as if she was bragging. Blake pouted, her lips half tugging up, “So I don’t get to see you until tonight?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Yang smiled and leaned down from her bike, pressing a kiss to Blake’s cheek. “I’ll text you.”

“I’m almost certain you’re not allowed to do that.”

“I don’t care.” She shrugged and revved her engine, smiling as she drove off. Blake had to roll her eyes and giggle, she assumed that Yang’s boss would think she was a handful. She pulled her phone out, texting as she walked. 

Blake: you should be proud, i’m buying candles

Velvet: i knew u could do it

Blake: do you think she’ll like it

Velvet: ofc

Velvet: sometimes she’s so easily swayed that i think she thinks with her dick

Blake: maybe Pyrrha had the right idea about condoms

Velvet: what?

Blake: never mind

* * *

Yang stood behind the counter, bored out of her mind. She didn’t have Ruby to keep her company during this shift, her sister was Saturday and Sunday. Which meant Friday was the day she was on her lonesome.

Accompanied only by the occasional customer coming in to pay for petrol or to grab a snack. It was honestly amazing how bored she could get within a few hours, to the point where she began to preoccupy herself with random bullshit. At first it was just making herself coffee, kicking back to relax whilst she read a newspaper Maria had left lying around. 

Which then ended with Maria yelling at her. 

She tried texting Blake but there was no answer, it was possible she was still busy. She looked up to find a single customer loitering around. The man was dressed in a denim jacket, longish fair hair, scraggly and tussled on top of his head. ‘ _Junkie_ ,’ she thought, judging by the look of him.

She could see him screwing around, picking something up and putting it back several times over. If it was any other store she worked in, she wouldn’t have cared about shoplifters. But... it was Maria’s store, and as much as she thought her boss was a pain in the ass, she wasn’t going to let someone steal from her.

“Excuse me,” she said, voice clear and booming across the store. The man turned and smiled, his pupils blown wide. ‘ _Junkie_...’ she repeated to herself, let a sigh slip past her lips. “Are you buying something?” She asked dryly, scowling, eyes dropped and obviously unimpressed.

“Nah, just lookin’ sweetheart,” he said. She rolled her eyes and tried to busy herself with shuffling cigarettes around into the right order behind the counter. “What’s a beauty like you doin’ workin’ in here?” He asked, leaning over the counter. “I could get you a better job than this?”

“Not interested.”

“Can get you a lot of cash quick,” He said airily, trying and failing to be seductive. “ _Not interested._ ” She pressed her hands against the counter, staring him down, hoping he would just back off. A bell went off, signalling that the door had opened. Yang looked up and her face recoiled, not expecting to see her mom.

“Hi?” Yang said, a little confused. Raven whipped her sunglasses off, smiling, obviously shocked herself due to how forced that smile was. “Hey, nose to the grindstone I see, good for you,” Raven said as casually as she could. The man pushed himself up off of the counter, spinning around. “You know this girl Rae?”

“Uh, yeah!” Raven sucked on her front teeth, looking over at the confectionary, fingers grazing over the packers. “Yeah she’s my daughter...” Raven sighed, fishing a lien bill from her pocket. Yang eyed her skeptically, did she know this guy? “Pump three,” Raven said, clearing her throat as she slapped the lien down onto the counter.

The blonde nodded and took the lien, ringing her up, the cash register clicking with each push of a button. “Didn’t know you had a kid,” The man murmured, standing up straight. The dark haired women nodded and said no more. Yang raised an eyebrow at them as she ripped out the receipt, handing it over to her mom.

“You know him?” She asked, eyebrows lowered. Something wasn’t right. “Yeah, this is Shay, he’s a... _work_ associate.” Raven nodded. Yang gripped the counter, a thousand questions going through her head as she looked between the two of them. This guy was higher than a kite, no person in their right mind would hire him. He even had the rugged look to go with whatever he was taking.

“Yang!” The blonde’s head snapped over to the storeroom, Maria walking out of the door. “You’re shift’s over.” Her walking stick clacked off of the ground, walking until she had hopped up onto the stool behind the counter. The blonde nodded, still looking between her mother and her so called work associate.

“Okay... I’ll grab my jacket and get outta here.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Raven said quickly, the blonde raised her hand in the air, giving her a thumbs up. It was odd to say the least, that she didn’t know her mother’s job and the guy she worked with was... whatever the hell that guy was. She grabbed her jacket and her bag, smiling at herself. Blake would probably laugh at her when she whips out wine and a few bottles of beer.

She came back out of the store room, jacket being pulled on, shouldering her bag. Raven was waiting for her. She walked over, tapping her mom on the shoulder, pulled her back towards her. Raven waved Shay off, a signal for him to walk forward. Yang waited for him to be out of earshot before saying, “What the hell’s going on? _Work associate?_ ”

“Listen, he’s just some guy that works with me. I’m just giving him a ride so that’s why he’s here,” Raven said, squeezing Yang’s shoulder. The blonde nodded, accepting that answer, and honestly not wanting this interaction to last any longer than it had to. Her eyes were darting between Raven and Shay, who was standing eyeing up her bike. Raven was already walking away towards her car, no goodbye which Yang found weird. Maybe she didn’t want this interaction to last either.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, which she would’ve ignored if it hadn’t been Blake. “Hey babe,” she said, eyes narrowed at Shay, who was looking at her as she approached the bike. “Hey, sorry I didn’t get your text earlier I was... busy.” Yang would’ve narrowed her eyes again if she could have, Blake sounded off. 

“It’s fine I’m just getting off of my shift-“ she pushed Shay out of the way by the shoulder and climbed onto her bike, “-do you need me to pick you up?”

“No, I’m back at my place.”

Yang rolled her eyes when she saw that Shay was lingering, obviously waiting for her to finish up talking on the phone. “Alright, I’ll see you soon then,” she hung up and put her phone in her pocket. “What do you want?” She asked, losing patience by the second.

“So, how about me and you go out sometime, huh?”

Yang scrunched up her face. “Sorry, did you hear the part where I answered the phone-“ she stuck her thumb and pinky out, making a phone gesture, she felt like Weiss with these hand gestures. “-and said ‘ _hey babe_ ’, who did you think I was on the phone to?”

Shay shrugged and shook his head, seemingly taken aback by her attitude.

“Well it’s not gonna be my fucking dad is it?” She barked, turning the key and revving her engine up. He put his hand on the windscreen, “Now hold on a second-“ she drove forward, right over his foot, leaving him howling in pain.

She flipped him off as she drove away.

* * *

Yang parked her bike in Blake’s driveway, which felt extremely weird. She had always just been stopping by, parking on the sidewalk for a brief moment. Even when she had stayed here the night of Coco’s party, she didn’t have her bike to park. Plus Ghira’s car was usually in the driveway. 

She opened the door, stepping inside and shedding her shoes, bag in hand. Which also felt weird. Like she was about to walk into the kitchen and Blake would be making dinner. Or maybe she was just gay. 

“Blakey baby!” She called out, smirking at herself, she wondered what Blake would say when she pulled out a bottle of wine. A quick glance in the living room and kitchen was a sure sign that she was upstairs. She climbed up the stairs, thinking of what to say. She was still irritated from seeing Shay and her mom. Also really interested in what her mom was doing, what _was_ her job?

Yang pulled the bottle out of her bag, holding it by the neck as she opened the bedroom door. “What do you think...” she trailed off as she looked up from what she thought would be a nice surprise. A candlelit room, looking almost holy in its own right, Blake stood lighting one final candle. What really captured her attention was Blake, standing in Yang’s orange flannel, looking like it was actual gold in the rooms lighting.

She leaned against the doorframe, the wine she had procured seeming wildly inferior to what she was witnessing. Blake turned around, tossing the lighter down onto the desk before leaning back against it. Her hands gripped the wood, nervously tapping at the underside.

Yang’s jaw dropped at the sight, her mouth going dry. Vaguely at the back of her mind she knew she should be a little ashamed of being reduced to a mute from just seeing Blake wearing lace. If she was gorgeous before then there was no word for what she looked like right now.

“Do you like it?” Blake asked, crossing her arms, suddenly self conscious. The blonde nodded, taking the question as an invitation to come in. She crossed the room, placing the bottle down onto the desk. The notion that she had been annoyed was now a distant memory. Her thoughts were empty, replaced only by what was in front of her.

**

“Did you actually take stuff to Ilia’s or...?”

“No I did, but I got these from the store too.”

“So whilst I was at work you were... chilling in your underwear?” Yang grinned, chuckling lowly. Blake chuckled back and shook her head. “I also put your stuff in the spare drawer, I wasn’t gonna leave it lying in your duffel all weekend.”

Yang hummed and closed her eyes, head dipping down until her nose was nuzzling against Blake’s cheek, hands firmly locked into the desk at either side of Blake. “Explains the shirt then, it suits you,” Yang’s voice lowered and Blake could feel her breathing fast and shallow against her cheek. “Is this what I think it is?” She asked. Blake nodded, eyes fluttering shut. “As long as you want this too,” she said, but already had her answer with the blonde peppering her cheek with kisses. Blake started to occupy herself with trying to get Yang’s jacket off.

Although she didn’t have to try very hard as Yang was already tugging the sleeves off herself, tossing it to the floor. “I tidied up your clothes for a reason.” she half smirked, she had only said it to get a reaction from the blonde, which she got in the form of Yang pulling back and raising an eyebrow at her.

“Blake, I’m not stopping to fold my clothes.” The faunus girl chuckled and pushed on Yang’s chest until the back of her legs hit the bed. She sat down, immediately reaching her hands out to tug Blake into her lap, which Blake was all too happy to oblige with. The blonde stopped dead, her hands holding Blake still as she straddled her.

“What is it?” She asked, her heart rate picking up. The worry that she had rushed this finally settled in, maybe it was way too much. “Are you really sure about this? We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she said. Blake smiled and slanted their lips together, “I want this.” The blonde nodded, kissed her, lips trailing down to her jawline. “You’ll tell me if you want to stop?”

“Yes.”

“And if I hurt you or you don’t like something-“

“I know you’re being considerate, which is sweet, but you’re kind of ruining it.”

“Right, sorry,” Yang said, pulling back slightly, she smirked and tugged her t-shirt off in one swift movement, tossing it to the floor. Her mouth was back on Blake’s jaw, working her way down the column of her throat, sucking and biting whilst Blake let out soft pleasured sighs. Yang’s hands slid up to Blake’s shoulders, thumbs hooking under the fabric of her shirt, Blake didn’t move to stop her so she didn’t, only sliding the fabric down her arms as she kissed lower still.

Blake pulled the shirt off entirely, throwing it to the increasing pile on the floor, which she would probably complain about later. The blonde’s mouth brushed over the top of her breasts, the heat of it making her squirm and grind her hips. Yang chuckled and reached her hand around, fingers resting over the clasp of her bra. “Can I?” Blake nodded. Yang fumbled with it for a moment, which she laughed at, because it was the first time she had shown that she was just as nervous about this.

Yang slid the straps down her arms, purposefully slow, resting her nose between her breasts, gulping as she pulled away the fabric entirely, letting it gracefully fly off into the heap. She kept her eyes closed, kept her face close to Blake’s body, not needing to see to know where she was wanted. But also afraid that if she looked she might have a heart attack. Her hands slid up, stopping just under her boobs, teeth grazing against the soft skin.

Blake whimpered, Yang taking a nipple between her lips, her hand coming up to cup her other boob. She couldn’t escape the thought of how perfectly Blake fit into her hands, against her body, reacting to every touch, clay for her to sculpt. Pale skin, a blank canvas for her to paint with different marks, showing that Yang had been the only one to be here, the only one who had the pleasure of doing this.

“ _Fuck_...” Blake moaned, low and hoarse into her hair, as she switched her mouth to the other side. The raven haired girl tried to keep her focus, hands making quick work of Yang’s belt, digging underneath the fabric, searching for skin. Yang laughed, pressed a kiss between her breasts, “You’re awfully confident for someone who hasn’t done this before.”

“Shut up.” Yang hooked her arms under Blake’s thighs, turning and setting her down on the bed. The bed dipped under her weight, knees sinking into the bed at each side of Blake’s hips, springs croaking as she juggled her weight from one knee to the other. Yang dipped back down to her chest, she realised that she could hear her rapid heart beat, like a train going a million miles an hour, about to fly off of the tracks. Then a weird sensation washed over her.

She propped herself up again, hands pressing into the sheets at either side of Blake’s head. “Are you really sure about this?”

“Sounds like you’re not-“

“No- _no_ , no this is... this is _good_ for me- _great_ even, but, y’know...” she raked her eyes up and down Blake body beneath her, she felt tore between the idea that she was ruining something pure and just giving in to what she wanted. Blake giggled and rolled her eyes, legs wrapping around Yang’s waist, flipping them over again. “If you’re fine with this then stop worrying so much.” Blake giggled, pressing kisses to Yang’s neck, hands pulling at the waistband of her jeans.

The blonde bit her tongue and arched her back, helping Blake yank off her jeans, somehow kicking them off despite the tiny nibbles on her neck getting more and more distracting. Blake started trailing down her chest, moving the sports bra aside, lips brushing over skin, almost copying what Yang had done to her. Yang sat up slightly and yanked off the bra, balling it up as she threw it away. She didn’t care where it landed, the sight and feeling of Blake now on her abs, almost as if she was worshipping them, was much more important.

Although it wouldn’t be the best if it landed on a candle, her head turned sharply; candles undisturbed. She turned back.

She propped herself up on her elbows to get a better view, biting her bottom lip, abs contracting underneath gentle kisses. She was unfamiliar with something as tender as this, not used to being the one on the receiving end. She also thought that she should be the one going down on Blake right now but she didn’t want to take her moment away. She mildly felt bad when Blake pulled down her boyshorts, feeling that they weren’t as good as what Blake was wearing.

Yang reached one arm down, her hand lightly scratching behind Blake’s ear, the softness of her hair feeling so much different in the moment. Her hips bucked up involuntarily and Blake grinned smugly, pressing kisses along the inside of her thigh. Blake visibly gulped, she knew Yang was into this, swiping a finger along her folds more than confirmed that and earned her an additional roll of the hips.

She leaned her face down further, the smell musky and addicting. ‘ _Just do what comes naturally, it’s fine,_ ’ she told herself. She took one final look at Yang, who looked as if she was on the verge of begging, then closed her eyes, tongue darting out. She immediately found that Yang’s taste was addicting, licking and sucking more and more just to savour it.

She was nervous, obviously she had her doubts that she was doing any good, until Yang let out a low moan, fingers weaving through her hair, being careful not to hurt Blake or accidentally tug on her ears. Blake also found that it made her feel good about herself, feeling someone she loved, someone who normally seemed larger than life writhing beneath her was intoxicating.

Yang gently cupped her jaw, lifting her head up, a pit settled in Blake’s stomach, thinking she had done something wrong. The blonde immediately recognised the look and smiled at her to calm her nerves. “C’mere,” she said and Blake obliged, crawling up the covers, meeting Yang halfway. Yang kissed her, rougher than expected, knocking her back onto the sheets as Yang moved over her.

With the amount of flipping around they were doing it almost felt like a fight for who was on top. Yang kissed her temple, lips brushing against her ear, hand slipping under the waistband, fingers already searching for her clit. The raven haired girl let out a huff of a moan, hands clinging to Yang’s shoulders, uncertain of what to do with herself but accepting the pleasure.

Yang looked all too pleased with herself as she moved down Blake’s body, stopping at the scar on her hip, making a show of pressing her lips against it. Blake rolled her eyes fondly, but appreciated the sentiment all the same. She smiled and continued downwards, one hand slipping under the small of Blake’s back to lift her up whilst the other tugged at her underwear.

If Blake wasn’t so turned on she would push Yang away, be irritated by the shit-eating grin on her face. It was even more annoying that she lived up to that arrogance, the first few swipes of her tongue having Blake throwing herself back against the pillows, moaning freely. There was a tiny thought in the back of her head that made her glad she chose to be hasty and do this tonight, she couldn’t bear the thought of someone walking in on this.

As great as it all felt, making her rise and fall, chest heaving, Yang’s strong hands holding her in place. She was mesmerised with the sound of how wet she was, she could actually hear Yang press a finger into her-

Blake gulped again, she hadn’t been expecting that, but it still felt amazing. 

“You okay?” Yang asked, her breath over Blake’s most sensitive areas was ticklish. “Y-Yeah, _don’t stop,_ ” she breathed, closing her eyes, sinking into the mattress. She slipped in another finger, slowly pushing until she was at her first knuckle. The blonde never moved, just left them there, holding her open, enjoying the feeling of Blake’s muscles convulsing around her. She swiped at Blake’s clit, sucked, repeat, and Blake was gone. 

The feeling of something rising in the bottom of her stomach, making her muscles tighten and her moans grow higher in pitch. “ _F-Fuck..._ ” she breathed out, not expecting to even say anything herself, but she was overwhelmed. Her thighs clenched around Yang’s head, lapping at her folds as she came, fingers still never leaving her. The blondes thumb on her other hand drew circles in the scarred side of her hip, soothing her, helping her through the shakiness. 

She rose up, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, watching Blake pant. Yang leaned down, kissing her again, and again, waiting for her to catch her breath. She rested her forehead against Blake’s, blonde and black strands sticking together, melding. “Can you keep going?” She asked, hand already moving, pumping in and out of Blake. She smirked, trying not to seem like she was on the edge of falling into a moaning mess. “I can keep going,” she said before choking out a moan.

The blonde chuckled and kept going, picking up her pace. She looked down between them to see her ‘handiwork’ (she laughed at herself) and found that it was the most arousing sight she’d ever seen, all air catching in her lungs. Not just because of the act itself, because it was _Blake_. Usually she would be content to just give, expect no orgasm for herself. But between the sounds escaping Blake’s mouth and the sight below her, it was becoming unbearable.

She pulled her fingers out and Blake whined in disappointment. She wiped them unceremoniously on the sheets. “S-Sorry it’s just, can I do something? If you don’t like it-“

“I’ll tell you.” Blake cupped her cheek. Yang nodded and forgot to stop nodding, arms shaking as she shifted her body upwards. She rested her sex on top of Blake’s and thought that she had never fit so well with someone before, bodies quite literally melting together. At least it felt that way, with how Blake was warm, wet and almost inviting. Blake’s breath hitched, the visual alone peaking her interest.

Yang rolled her hips slowly, testing the waters, when Blake moaned and tried to throw her head back further into the mattress only to realise she couldn’t. She sped up her movements, hands snaking under Blake and gripping onto her, one hand on her shoulder, the other cupping the underside of her neck, using it as leverage to grind herself down.

It was only then that she realised how much bigger she was than Blake, shoulders broader arms and hands- just _bigger_ in general. Her head slipped into the crook of Blake’s neck, panting, enjoying the sounds the other girl was making and the feeling of her body shuddering under her movements. “God, _Yang_..!” She was aware that Blake had just come again, hands digging into her shoulders, trying to ground herself during her second orgasm.

She didn’t stop, sweating as she struggled to maintain the rapid pace she had set for herself. Yang was also aware she was being far rougher than she wanted to be, but she was too close to the edge to stop, realising now she needed this, needed Blake. 

“ _Shit!_ ” She howled, orgasm hitting her like a freight train, all the muscles in her body taut, gripping onto Blake for dear life. She let out a string of curses, still panting into Blake’s neck as she came down from her high. She wished she still had the energy to keep going, to be able to give Blake everything, make her feel amazing. But alas, she couldn’t. Not right now anyway.  


**

Blake laughed and tilted her head sideways, letting it rest on Yang’s. “ _Fuck_... that was good.” The blonde rolled over, taking her weight off of Blake entirely, still trying to catch her breath.

Blake swallowed and swiped her tongue along her lips, throat dry, also out of breath. She grabbed at the edge of the covers, flipping them over herself and Yang. The sweat on both of them was drying, cooling them down. She perked up the pillows behind her, getting comfy.

Yang had her palms settled over her eyes, elbows bent skywards. She stretched her arms out, shuffling around before settling them back behind her head. She realised that Blake was oddly quiet and looked over at her, smile dropping when she thought something was wrong.

“I’m starving,” Yang said, just to break the silence, but it made Blake laugh, drawn out and bubbly. That was the important part. She smiled. “This is gonna sound super cringe but... was it good?” Yang asked, smiling and biting her lip. Blake tried to feign an unimpressed look, narrowing her eyes at her and pouting.

The faunus girl pressed her elbow into the pillows, resting her jaw on her hand. “Yeah,” she says. “It was good.”

Yang’s features softened, her skin seeming tanned and gorgeous in the rooms light, strands of her hair seeming to spin into gold as they danced around her face, cheeks still lightly flushed. Her eyes were like lavender, calming her every sense, removing any wrong thoughts. Her smile was tender, lips pink and plump. It was the same way she was looking at her yesterday in class and she couldn’t get enough of it.

She covered her face, suddenly embarrassed and turned away, facing the wall. “ _Stop it,_ ” she said, voice muffled by her hands. Yang furrowed her brow and smiled, reaching over to turn Blake towards her by the shoulder. “Stop what?” She asked, trying to pry Blake’s hands away from her face. “Stop looking at me like that.” She reluctantly let Yang take her hands away from her face, taking hold of them instead.

“Looking at you like what?” She chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Like you love me...” she said quietly, throat bobbing as she swallowed. Yang held that same adoring expression, unwilling to give it up for anything. “Because I do.” They both chuckled, the blonde leaning down to peck at her lips. “How does it feel?” Yang asked and Blake took it that it was her turn to be confused. “How does what feel?”   


”Knowing you’re no longer a virgin,” Yang said, groaning slightly as she held herself upright on her forearms. “Feels like we should do that again sometime.” They giggled in tandem, Yang pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. Yang looked around the room, the flames on the candles creating shadows that danced along the walls, the purple walls making it all seem magical. She had to admire Blake for taking this all into her own hands, giving herself control over this moment.   


“Was it actually good or did you just not want to hurt my feelings and say I’m a terrible lay?” Yang joked, lips half tugging up onto a smirk. Blake giggled, one hand playing with the tuft of hair at the front of Yang’s head. “I liked it, and thanks for... you know letting me spring this on you.”

”Well I can’t exactly say that seeing you wearing lingerie was upsetting.” They laughed again, and they both loved how easy they found being with each other. Like it was all supposed to happen. Blake glanced over at the desk. “Why did you buy wine again?”

“There’s beer there too.”

“ _Why_?”

“I don’t know!” She laughed, flopping back down into her previous space. “I thought you might want it.”

“ _So_ random,” She giggled, shaking her head slightly. Yang sighed, giving way to a grin as she put her hands behind her head again, seeming satisfied with herself. Blake chuckled silently, shaking her head at how ridiculous her girlfriend was. “I’m actually really hungry by the way.”

“I am too, I haven’t ate yet,” Blake said, sliding over Yang’s body and reaching for the flannel on the ground, it being the closest thing to her. “You weren’t waiting for me were you?” Yang asked, brows knitted together.

“Yang I’m not gonna have dinner without you, that only makes sense.” Blake wrinkled her nose, tone sounding snide but Yang knew it came from a place of sincerity. She fixed a few buttons across her chest on the shirt, standing and grabbing her phone. Yang readjusted herself, mouth slightly agape as she watched Blake.

The faunus girl laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. “I think Velvet might have been onto something earlier.”

“What’d Velvet say?”

“ _Nothing_...” she shook her head, biting back a smile. The blonde narrowed her eyes at her but smiled nonetheless, she rolled onto her side and searched around for her clothes, regretting the way she had thrown everything off in the moment. She reached a little too far forward, falling out of the bed, her bare ass hanging in the air.

Blake burst out laughing. 

* * *

The rest of the night flew by like a dream, takeaway boxes emptied and tossed aside in favour of a movie in bed. They were cozy curled up next to each other, bellies full. They had to change the sheets, which Blake made a mental note to clean before her parents got back and suspected anything.

Blake’s eyes blinked open that night, adjusting to the darkness in the room, candles long since blown out. She remembered falling asleep, but found it strange that she had woken up in the middle of the night.

She was still tucked under Yang’s chin, the blondes gentle snores the only sound that filled the room. Blake closed her eyes, figuring that she could just go back to sleep, but for some reason she was wide awake. She curled closer into Yang’s chest, her arm still slung around her waist, holding her close.

She realised there was a dim light in the room, then remembered she hadn’t closed the curtains... and now that was annoying her.

She sat up slowly, hair creating a curtain between herself and the other side of the room. She pushed it out of the way, looking down and smiling at her sleeping girlfriend. She pressed a kiss to her cheek and Yang stirred, letting out a content sigh and trying to nuzzled further into Blake- or at least, where she thought Blake was.

Blake sighed and looked over, eyes landing on the carpet. There was an even dimmer light than Blake had originally thought, what should’ve been the length of the entire window reflecting on the floor was only half of its size. She could’ve swore she hadn’t touched the curtains, maybe she had- maybe even Yang did it. She sat up on her knees, getting ready to move over to the window, shooting a quick glance up towards it-

Her heart stopped. The light from the street lamps reflected off of red hair, a single blue eye boring through her. Adam was outside her window. Then it fully sank in. _Adam was outside her window_. She could hear her own heartbeat yet she felt her blood run cold, like her heart was never working to begin with. He smiled, dark and sinister, then slowly crawled away from the window.

She didn’t realise she was screaming until she felt Yang tugging at her waist, arms wrapping around her and holding her as close as she had in her sleep. “What happened?” She asked, placing reassuring kisses on her head -anywhere she could really- hand sliding up and down Blake’s back. “Blake, talk to me,” Yang said and all Blake could do was let out choked sobs.

Her ears were permanently pinned back, miffed by what she had just experienced. How was he even there? How long had he been there? She felt... _powerless_. _Weak_. It was an invasion of privacy, and it made her feel like she had a total lack of control. Which was only made worse by the fact that it was Adam. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She had given herself control tonight- _Yang_ had given her control tonight for what felt like the first time in her life. And he ruined it. 

“A-Adam was at the window...” she managed to choke out, she noticed that her tears had stained Yang’s t-shirt as she pulled back. The blonde raised an eyebrow at her, skeptical. “Are you sure?” She said, and the disbelief only pissed Blake off. “I know what I saw, _I swear_ he was right there!” She yelled and pointed at the window.

Yang nodded and threw the covers off, climbing out of bed. She climbed up onto the desk to look out of the window, going as far as to crack the window open and climb out onto the roof, taking a look around. She climbed back inside, closing up the window. Yang shook her head, “Blake there’s no one there-“

“Yang, _I’m telling you-_ “

“I know, stop yelling,” Yang chuckled nervously, coming back to sit on the bed, hands sliding down Blake’s arms. “Just calm down, _okay_? I’m here, I’ve got you.”

Blake nodded slightly, which turned out to be just a slight bob of her head, sniffling as she tugged at Yang’s shirt and buried her face into it. She sat back up, hand over her mouth and looking away, feeling pathetic about her own reaction. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled-“ she noticed Yang grabbing her phone, “what’re you doing?”

“Blake, I’m pretty sure we should call the cops at this point.”

“ _No_! My mom will have a heart attack if she finds out.”

“You almost gave _me_ a heart attack with the way that you were screaming- he’s been stalking you for a month now, I’m not just gonna let that happen!”

Blake opened her mouth to argue but closed it again. She had a point and she could see that this couldn’t have been a nice experience for Yang either. Seeing your girlfriend, cheeks soaked with tears, sobbing about how someone was stalking her couldn’t have been easy. “ _Sorry_...” she whispered.

Yang smiled, placing a hand on Blake’s cheek and wiped away an stray tears. “Don’t be, just trust me and let me help.” Blake nodded again and leaned into her hand. “We’ve got a family friend who’s a cop, let me call him and see what I can do.” She leaned forward, pecking Blake’s lips, winking at her as she pulled away. 

The faunus girl took her hand, seeking comfort in the form of Yang’s touch. Yang fiddled around with her phone, holding it up to her ear, talking. Blake had zoned out, not hearing anything she was saying. She just sat there, holding her hand.

This was pitiful, and she hated that he still had that control over her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback appreciated and any guesses on who this ‘family friend’ is? 
> 
> Also my whole inspiration for Adam during this fic came from when I was rewatching volume 6 and it fully sank in that Adam was stalking them. Like the scene where Yang sees Adam at the farm I was like ‘oh so he was actually there?’ And that genuinely scared me. Idk there’s just something about the whole stalker thing, that lack of control, that I find scarier than anything else.


	17. Over It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s pure fluff as Yang tries to get Blake over what happened the night before. She doesn’t have to try hard.

Blake and Yang didn’t go back to sleep, whoever Yang was on the phone to said they would be there soon, despite it being four in the morning. Blake had been shifting around uncomfortably, looking between the window and her hands. Yang was beginning to tire of seeing her like this.

She stood up, slipping both of their phones into the pocket of her shorts. Blake looked at her quizzically, one ear flopped backwards. The blonde let out a disgruntled moan, hooking her arms under Blake’s thighs and lifting her up. “What are you doing?” She asking, hands clinging onto Yang’s shoulders.

“Taking you downstairs and closing the curtains so you can’t stare out the window and freak yourself out,” she said. Blake didn’t protest she just accepted that she was going to be getting carried around. She actually enjoyed having a girlfriend who could lift her with ease, it was fun. She giggled when Yang reached down to grab her case of beer.

She was extremely anxious about walking into the hallway. The entire house was in darkness and it wasn’t like she knew where Adam had went. The guy was like a ghost, what if he was in the house and she didn’t know? Yang started walking down the stairs, Blake’s head swivelling to try and catch a glimpse of anything that might be moving around downstairs.

“No, Yang, put me down,” she said, her voice shaky, heels kicking against Yang’s waist as she tried to get down. Yang stopped halfway down the stairs and sat down on one of the steps, setting the beers to the other side of the steps. Blake could feel her feet on the steps, knowing that she could stand up and run back upstairs. But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to be alone.

“Sorry,” she murmured, turning her face away to look at the wall. She felt like she just wasted Yang’s time. Yang’s hand cupped Blake’s cheek, gently nudging her head to face her. She smiled and it helped to ground Blake, stopping her mind from giving in to her anxiety. “Stop apologising, you can boss me around as much as you like.” she shrugged and tilted her head to the side. “At least for this weekend.”

“Thank you...” she giggled, face leaning into Yang’s hand and ears finally tilting forward. Yang was clearly satisfied with that reaction as her smile broadened. Blake let out a tiny sigh, glancing over to the living room. It was empty. She stood up, slowly descending the last few steps with Yang following closely behind her.

The blonde saw her hesitate, lingering at the bottom of the stairway. She walked around Blake, deciding that if she didn’t take the lead they might be sitting on the stairs for the rest of the night. She switched the lamp on in the living room, closing the blinds and drawing the curtains. Yang stood with her arms spread out then clapped her hands together. “Living room secured,” she said.

Blake giggled and grabbed the bottles Yang had left on the stairs, walking towards the kitchen in a moment of bravery. She only decided that she had the guts to actually go into the kitchen once she felt Yang behind her, hearing her complain about the cold floor.

Blake flipped the light switch and was all too relieved when she found the kitchen was also empty. She set the bottles down on the table, resting her elbows down and sinking her hands into black locks of hair. Yang picked up a jacket from the laundry basket, holding it up with an amused look on her face. “I was looking for this,” she said. It was one of her letterman jackets, blue with a retro style collar.

“I was gonna wash it before I gave it back to you,” Blake said, exhaling as she stood up straight. “Keep it if you want, blue’s not really my colour.” she leaned her hands at either side of Blake, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck. “Plus I bet it looks _way_ better on you.”

“You say that about everything.”

“Because you look _amazing_ in everything.” Yang rested her head on Blake’s shoulder, “Although, you without clothes is pretty great too.” Blake giggled and pushed her head away, Yang chuckling as she backed away to give Blake some space. She reached over and grabbed one of the beers, gaining an odd look from Blake. “You’re drinking?”

Yang nodded before biting the cap off of her beer. “Yeah, I’m gonna finish this then get Adam back for what he did to you,” she said, then immediately worried that what she had said might have been a step too far. Blake giggled and rubbed her arms. She had left Yang’s flannel on but tugged on shorts as well, expecting to be warm and cozy in bed pressed up to a space heater of a person. Her kitchen was a lot colder than what she was dressed for.

Yang smiled lopsidedly, “Would you like a drink to warm you up?”

“Should you be drinking if this guy coming is a cop?”

“Yeah, but he won’t care. He’s always bailing me out.” Yang chuckled, thumb tracing the lip of her bottle. Blake pouted and reached over to grab one of the bottles, which Yang immediately took from her to crack open with her teeth before handing it back. “You’re gonna break your teeth.” Blake flicked her eyebrows, taking a sip from the bottle, turning to walk into the living room with Yang following behind her like a puppy.

“Would you still love me if I did?” She chuckled. Blake shrugged and sat down on the sofa, feeling the cushions dip further once Yang sat down. “Imagine I broke my teeth and had a lisp, Coco would never let me live that down.” Blake giggled, laughing more when she thought about it.

“Imagine saying Weiss’ name with a lisp.” The two of them laughed, Blake leaning into Yang’s arm to muffle the sound. She loved Yang’s ability to make her forget about everything else, to make her forget what had just happened. Yang’s phone buzzed and that brought her back to reality.

“He’s just texting for me to let him in,” Yang said, already standing to make her way to the door. There was a heaviness to the front door opening, like as if she would open the door and Adam would be standing there, waiting. Instead in came a tall man with brown hair and a trench coat, flashing a charming smile. Her eyes widened, she recognised him as one of the cops from the port.

“Blake, this is Clover, he’s friends with my uncle Qrow,” Yang said, ushering Clover into the living room. He outstretched his hand for Blake to shake, which she accepted kindly. “I would say it’s nice to meet you but I believe we’ve already met. You were at the port earlier this week weren’t you?”

Blake nodded. “Yeah, you were there when Adam was getting arrested.” She felt Yang’s arm rest over her shoulders, taking a swig from her beer as she sat back down. Clover rolled his eyes. “Qrow’s off the drink so you’re on it, must be a Branwen trait,” Clover groaned, sitting down in the seat across from them. Yang chuckled, Blake joining in, feeling a little awkward.

Clover stretched his arms out, resting his hands on his knees. “Right, what’ve you done this time?”

“You make it sound like I’m always in trouble.”

“That’s because you are, remember the brawl you got in outside the petrol station?”

Yang tapped Blake’s shoulder, demanding her attention as she turned towards her. “That’s how I got hired,” she grinned and Blake had to resist the urge to laugh. Clover cleared his throat, sensing that Yang would carry on talking if he didn’t get her attention back. “I’ll tell you the story later.” She winked and turned back to Clover.

“What’s the problem?” He asked, tender smile on his face. Blake grimaced, throat tightening at the thought of everything. “Adam Taurus turned up at my bedroom window-“

“Adam was _here_?” Clover said, finger tapping off of his knee, face deadly serious. Blake nodded, eyebrows knitted in confusion, “Yeah, isn’t he supposed to be in jail?” Clover nodded and shook his head, clearly annoyed at the mention of that. “Sienna Khan had us release him on bail, I like to think she would’ve left him in custody if she could have flown over this weekend, crazy bitch- er, excuse my language ladies,” he said, sheepishly scratching behind his ear.

“So, he was stalking you? Would that be right?” He asked, and he leaned further forward, intrigued by what she had just told him. Blake nodded, the word ‘ _stalk_ ’ falling into her ear and settling at the bottom of her stomach, making her squirm uncomfortably. Yang rubbed her shoulder, letting her know she was still there. “Should I call it in?”

Blake shook her head. “ _No_ , sorry, it’s just that my parents are in Mistral meeting with Sienna Khan and I don’t want them to worry,” she said, gulping and hoping that explanation would suffice. Clover let out a long ‘ _ahh_ ’, “You’re the Belladonna girl, I should’ve realised. Spitting image of your mother,” he smiled and Blake chuckled, looking down at her knees. She always forgot that her parents knew a lot of people.

“‘ _The Belladonna girl’_ , it’s like dating a celebrity.” Yang chuckled, grinning at her. Blake smiled and rolled her eyes, gaze averting to Clover who was laughing at them. “Here’s what I can do,” Clover said, back cracking as he straightened up in the seat. “I can report an anonymous sighting of Adam in this area and mark it as suspicious activity. That way I can have them send someone down to patrol and your parents don’t have to find out.”

He clasped his hands over his lap, grinning, “Good plan?” Blake nodded, smiling appreciatively. He wouldn’t know how much better that made her feel. “Sounds good... thank you.” She smiled softly. Yang seemed thrilled, smiling happily and pressing her forehead against the side of Blake’s head. Maybe she was just bored as well.

“Alright, I’ll get that done,” Clover says. “By the way, what’s wrong with your dad Yang? He seemed on edge the other day when I saw him.”

Yang shrugged. “Who knows, he’s always worrying about something.”

“Hmm, strange,” he hummed. Clover stood up, stretching his arms up into the air. “Well then, need anything else before I leave?”

“Fifty lien?”

“Yeah, _of course_ ,” Clover laughed, rolling his eyes. Yang stood up and walked him out, Blake waving at him as he left. She found it funny how the entirety of Yang’s family were all kind and helpful- Clover wasn’t family but she assumed they were close by the way they joked with each other. She heard Yang lock the door, walking back in with her hands in her pockets.

“Aren’t you glad you let me help?” The blonde asked, reaching down to take a drink from her beer. Blake reached for her own bottle, it would be a waste if she didn’t drink it. “I am.” She took a drink from her bottle, the liquor burning her throat. Yang smiled, soft and lopsided. “We can go back to bed if you want,” Yang says, arm slung over the back of the sofa cushion.

Blake shook her head, “I’m not tired.” Yang swirled her beer in her hand, watching the liquid spin around inside the bottle, which she was now just realising was almost empty. How had she drank that so quickly? “Want me to tire you out?” Yang purred, low and seductive. Blake giggled and pushed her away, knowing it was a joke.

“What was the story you said you’d tell me?” Blake asked, elbow digging into the cushion, leaning her cheek against her first as she sipped from her bottle. “Me, Coco and Neptune ended up in this huge fight outside of the petrol station. I don’t even remember how I just remember getting smacked in the face.” Blake laughed and pulled her legs up onto the couch, getting comfy.

Yang snapped her fingers, “Actually I do remember, Neptune tried to hit on one of these girls and her boyfriend punched him in the face. Then Me and Coco ended up getting involved.”

“ _How_ did you get a job from this?”

“Maria came outside and saw that I had knocked everyone out-“ Blake rolled her eyes “-and also saw my motorcycle. At first it was just in the petrol station because she thought I could beat up shoplifters but then I told her I work on my bike and she let me work in the garage.”

“So you’ve just been doing hectic bullshit with Coco for years?” Yang laughed and drained the rest of her beer. Blake smiled and wondered how it all felt so natural, familiar. It was possible Yang just had that effect on people but then again she found it strange. If she ever wrote a book it would end up a trashy romance about how she fell in love with a stranger in less than a few weeks. How all the talk of soulmates might not be just a trope.

She reached over to the coffee table, grabbing the tv remote. She hauled herself up onto the sofa, Yang budging aside to let her lie down, now wedged between Yang’s body and the sofa cushion. Yang decided to lie down as well. She took their phones out of her pocket, placing them on the table, curling up with Blake more now that she was sure the phones wouldn’t be prodding into her side.

The tv clicked on and they both laughed at the different shows that were on. Late night tv was always awful. She was glad that Yang was here, she honestly didn’t know what she’d do if she wasn’t. She probably would’ve invited Weiss to stay, what with her family troubles, that would’ve been hilarious. Weiss would’ve wanted Adam hung, drawn and quartered if she was here.

Blake appreciated that Yang had stayed because she didn’t want her to be on her own. Giving up her weekend to keep her company, to make sure she was safe...

The butterflies kicked up again, a giddy feeling that made her lips twitch up into a smile. She swivelled her head around, pressing a quick kiss to Yang’s lips before turning away again, feeling oddly shy about it. Yang giggled and pressed a kiss between her ears. Blake clicked onto what seemed like the most watchable thing (that thing being a cooking show) and tossed the remote onto the table.

Yang spotted a blanket that was draped over the back of the sofa and pulled it down, tossing it until it was covering Blake entirely. Her feet still stuck out off the bottom, but that was fine for her, as long as Blake was warm. The faunus girl smiled and tucked her head under Yang’s chin, arm slung over her waist.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah well you looked cold.”

“That’s not what I’m thanking you for but... yeah that works too.” 

* * *

Yang woke up, not knowing what time it was. Which she hadn’t expected at all, in fact she didn’t even remember falling asleep. Yang sighed contentedly, comfortable with the idea of lying here with Blake for the rest of the day... maybe taking a shower as well. 

Blake adjusted herself, trying to get even closer to Yang, which ended in her sticking her elbow a little too hard into Yang’s bicep. She gently moved Blake’s arm, only for her to whine and move again. She tossed one leg over Yang, her arms flopping over her neck and nuzzling her face into her chest. Yang chuckled lowly and accepted that this was where she would be stuck until Blake woke up. 

It was so warm and comfy, everything lulling her back into a sleep. Blake’s soft purring, which she found adorable, birds chirping outside and one of their phones buzzing off of the hardwood table. That last part was annoying her but she couldn’t be bothered to turn over and answer check. “Babe can you get that?” Blake mumbled and now Yang had to do it, whether she could be bothered to or not. 

She turned around as best as she could with Blake hanging onto her, her arm stretched out and searching around for the ringing phone. She grabbed the one that was vibrating, not even processing anything other than the fact that she slid her thumb across the answer button. “Hello?” She said groggily, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes. 

“XIAO-LONG, DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS MISSY?!” Maria’s voice screeched over the phone, the volume of it causing her to hold the phone away from her ear. She held her phone away, glancing at the time in her phone, she would be finishing work around this time- 

“ _Shit_!” She yelled, Blake jumping up, startled by the sudden outburst. Yang winced and rubbed her ear, apologising for scaring her. “Sorry! Maria I can explain!-“

Blake cuddled into her waist, still half asleep and not listening to whatever Yang was raving about on the phone. The most she knew was that she was on the phone to her boss. The blonde sighed and tossed her phone back down onto the table, sliding back under the covers then whining when she realised her feet stuck out the bottom. “I missed work today,” she said, hands coming back to hold onto Blake. 

“Sorry...” Blake mumbled, feeling like it was her fault, evident by the way her ears pinned back. “It’s fine, it was my fault. She was fine with it though,” she said, shuffling around, trying to get comfortable in the tiny space they were lying in. Under different circumstances she would’ve complained and said they should’ve slept in the bed, but she wouldn’t do that right now. 

Yang’s hands wandered under Blake’s shirt, fingers digging into flesh, admiring how soft it was as she raked her hands up and down, she could feel the thrum if her heartbeat under her hands. Like she held her heart. She wouldn’t give it up. Blake mewled and weaved her own hands through Yang’s hair, massaging at the back of her head weakly, still trying to wake up herself. 

One of Yang’s eyes peeked open and she almost scoffed when she saw the amount of space Blake had on the sofa. “You’ve got all that space and you’re here pushing me to the edge of the sofa?” She chuckled. Blake hummed, “We should’ve went back up to bed.”

“Do you think it would’ve freaked you out if we went back up to your room?”

“I’ll need to sleep in there eventually,” Blake shrugged, acting as if it was nothing. Yang exhaled, irritated by how Blake was trying to brush it off, chalk it up as just one of those things. “If we’re sleeping on the couch again I’m sleeping on the inside, my _entire ass_ is hanging off of the cushions.”

“You could just say ‘Blake can you move over?’”

“Okay, Blake can you move over?”

“Well yes I _certainly_ can because I’m getting up anyway,” she said, pushing herself up on one arm. Yang twisted herself around to lie on her back, allowing Blake to slide over her, the gentle pitter patter of her feet hitting the ground the only indication that she was standing up. “Why are you getting up?” Yang asked, sighing through her nose.

“To make breakfast?”

“Ah yes, _breakfast_.” Yang hummed and nodded, reaching over to grab her phone again. “ _Breakfast_ at three in the afternoon-“

“ _Is that what time it is?!_ ” Blake shrieked, grabbing her phone, eyebrows tangled in disbelief. Her head swivelled towards the tv, which she realised was still turned on. Whatever they had been watching was now reduced to teleshopping garbage. Although a bake-off show wasn’t all that great either.

“Okay forget breakfast,” Blake said, checking her phone for notifications and seeing a missed call from her mom. She wasn’t really in the mood for some verbal ping pong with Kali right now, so she would just text her instead. 

**Blake:** sorry I was asleep, is everything alright? 

“So what are we doing instead of breakfast?” Yang sat up, legs folded and arms stretching out above her head as she yawned. Blake twirled her phone in her hand for a moment as she thought about it. “I should really clean up my room...” she pouted. She wasn’t all too keen on going back in there but she would have to eventually, might as well start now.

“I could do it if you don’t want to.”

Blake’s brows furrowed and her nose upturned, annoyed at the thought of Yang tidying her room. She turned her head back towards her, retaining her expression and said, “I wouldn’t ask you to do that.” Yang shrugged arms wrapping around Blake’s abdomen. “It’s only putting some stuff in the trash,” she grinned and pressed her face into Blake’s neck. “Plus I might get a reward for it.” They both laughed and Blake pushed her face away. 

Yang stood up, stepping up on her tiptoes and stretching her arms out again. Blake rolled her eyes at how she was either trying to show off that she had the muscles of a bodybuilder in the making or she was just being dramatic. Blake stood up as well, collecting the empty beer bottles and taking them to the kitchen. She grabbed a plastic bag for the trash upstairs and shot a smile to Yang who was lingering in the doorway.

Everything downstairs was fine, but as soon as she got to her bedroom door she froze. What if she opened the door and he was there? That was the scariest part. Not knowing what he would do. She was aware he could do anything, go to any length, but those feats weren’t what scared her, it was just the fact she didn’t know what was coming. The blonde took her hand, using the other to open the bedroom door.

And there was nothing there.

It was just the way they had left it the night before. Bed disheveled, burnt out candles still not discarded and Chinese takeaway boxes lazily thrown to the side. She let out a groan and tongued her cheek, shaking her head as she walked inside, Yang following behind her. Blake thought that maybe she was just being silly, that the idea of Adam actually doing anything to hurt her was just some mad notion.

‘ _But then again, he had been right there,_ ’ she thought as she looked at the window. Yang hands slid down her arm, pulling her back. “I’m okay,” Blake said quietly. Yang leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek then took the bag from her hand, beginning to throw empty boxes into it.

“Oh, I forgot to say last night but I saw my mom,” Yang said, still casually throwing stuff into the bag. Blake recoiled her head, a little shocked that Yang had forgotten to mention that to her. “Where?” She asked, beginning to fix the bedspread.

“She came into the store for petrol. It was really weird though.”

“How?”

“There was this guy with her, she said he worked with him but the guy was obviously high- I don’t know who the hell would hire him, he sounds like a hillbilly.”

“Hmmm, what’s your mom’s job again?”

“I don’t know, she never mentioned it.” Blake narrowed her eyes and sat down on the bed, flattening her hands across the duvet to smooth it out. “That is weird...” Yang nodded in agreement, hand sliding the last of the used candles into the plastic bag. The blonde leaned against the dresser, folding her arms across her chest.

“The guy she was with tried to hit on me so I ran over his feet.” Yang grinned and Blake’s ears flicked backwards, as amused as she was she couldn’t stop the pang of jealousy that shot through her. A sudden flash of inspiration gleamed in Yang’s eyes and her smile dropped. “Do you think she’s got some kind of shady job?”

Blake shrugged, she didn’t want to voice her actual opinion and say _yes_. “She doesn’t tell you what her actual job is and she says some wasted guy works with her. It’s possible.” She bit her lip, wondering if that was the right thing to say. “Maybe... anyways,” Yang shook her head and walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Blake. “How do you feel?”

“Better,” Blake said, smiling appreciatively. “What are we gonna do for the rest of the day?”

“There’s a party tonight at this girl called Nebula’s house but that sounds like a death sentence.”

“Why would that be a death sentence?”

“I had sex with her once and now she thinks he has a chance.”

Blake groaned. “Yang for fuck sake...” she muttered, wiping her face with her hand. “S-Sorry, I’m just being honest...”

“I know and thanks but... I really didn’t need to know,” she giggled, smiling against her palm. Yang cleared her throat and gulped, her throat bobbing. “Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have said that, no other girl has anything on you though- I love you.” Blake turned her head to look at her, smiling. She enjoyed the unnecessary compliments.

“Seriously, you’re amazing.”

Blake bit her lip, “Yang you’re doing that thing again-“

“And I swear, I’ve never really felt like this about anyone before-“

“Yang, you’re rambling-“

“Then last night, _best sex_ I’ve ever had-“ she was cut off by Blake pressing their lips together, her brain immediately discarding whatever she had been thinking of in favour of the kiss. Blake pulled back, leaving Yang at a loss, her eyelashes fluttering. “ _Shut up,_ ” Blake giggled and watched as Yang bit the side of her lip, laughing through her nose. “Sorry, nervous rambler...”

“Oh really? I couldn’t tell,” Blake said, her tone thick with sarcasm. Yang smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again, “I’m happy to do whatever you want.”

“Nebula’s party? Just for the hell of it?”

“If you’re there then so am I.”

* * *

They never ended up going to the party, Yang and Blake both deciding against it once Nebula texted Yang asking if she was coming. She made a show of texting her back saying that she was staying in with her girlfriend, at which Blake rolled her eyes and said she didn’t have to do. 

“I’m glad I didn’t put makeup on yet,” Blake said, crossing the living room to plop down on the sofa next to Yang. “Well since we’re ready to leave, wanna just go out for dinner instead?” Yang asked, head rolling on the back of the sofa cushion to grin at Blake. 

“Depends, is there anyone else you’ve slept with that might want to kill me?” Blake laughed, already standing up and reaching for Yang’s keys. “We could always bring something back here.”

Yang nodded, standing and taking her keys from Blake’s hand. “Just as long as we can go out somewhere, I’m in the mood to _show off_.”

“Sounds like you’re about to be _shown up_.” Blake flicked her eyebrows. “I love it when you’re feisty.” Yang laughed and turned off the light in the hallway, following behind Blake. “You just love it when I talk,” Blake said lowly, eyes narrowed and smiling in false seduction. The blonde was glad that she seemed much better than she was last night. 

There was something weird about this weekend, Yang thought, as they both climbed onto her motorcycle. It might have just been a stupid thought, but it bothered her. But not a bad kind of bothered, more like a ‘ _oh I wish I knew more about this_ ’ kind. It felt right, in a way, waking up and going to sleep with Blake, eating dinner together, even parking her bike in the driveway. It just felt right. Either that or she was just finally be maturing.

The bike zoomed through the streets, both of them seeing a few people they know passing by. Yang grinned to herself. She was in the mood to show off, but not herself. No, there was some good feeling about going out in public and having Blake with her, holding her hand, curled up to her side. If she could get away with it she would point at people at tell them that her girlfriend was better than theirs. 

They stopped at the lights and Yang turned her head slightly to speak to Blake. “Where are we headed?” The raven haired girl asked and her head bobbed as Yang shrugged. “Wanna go back to that restaurant we were at last week? They do takeout too.” Blake nodded and that was Yang’s answer.

They parked outside, which was just as unsettling as last time. Yang discovered that it wasn’t because she was nervous about her date last time, it was because the car park was like something out of a horror movie. It was deserted, spare a handful of vehicles (her own bike included). She saw someone standing at the side of the building, leaning against the wall. She couldn’t recognise them. The part they stood in was in between the restaurant and another building, like they were hiding from the light.

Blake tugged on her hand, frustrated by how she had slowed down. Yang apologised and returned her attention to keeping up with Blake’s fast walking pace.

They ended up sitting inside to eat instead of leaving. Which was just as pleasant as the last time they were here, if not even more so. Last time there was an uncertainty between them, yet now they sat in what Yang could swear was the same booth, eating the same food, but it felt _so_ different. It felt easier.

Blake was checking her phone as she waited for Yang to finish eating, her eyebrows furrowed. “My mom asked for your number,” Blake said, eyebrow raised as she looked at her phone. “Send it to her then,” Yang said through a mouthful of food. Blake nodded slowly yet still seemed skeptical, thumb moving slowly over the screen as she sent Kali Yang’s phone number.

The blonde slid her plate forward slightly, a little symbol to herself that she was done with her food. “I still think the lighting in here looks really good,” Blake said absently. Yang nodded, rested her arms on the table and her head on her fist. “The lighting’s not the only thing that looks good in here,” she said, smirking at her own line.

“Agreed.” Blake smirked back and held her phone up straight, obviously taking a picture of Yang. She blew a kiss at the camera and her stomach did a flip at the cute giggle Blake let out. Yang picked up her own phone, deciding she wanted to do that Blake as well. Blake winked at the camera and Yang laughed in response, and suspected Blake experienced the same butterflies she did a moment ago.

“Okay, you ready to go?” Yang said, phone slipping into her pocket and already sliding out of the booth. “ _Yup_ ,” Blake said with an audible pop to the ‘p’.

The car park was just as creepy as it was before they came inside, albeit a little colder. She purposely exhaled and could see her breath. Yang couldn’t help but look over at the alleyway before where she had saw someone standing. He was still there. Although this time she could recognise the disheveled hair and denim jacket. She paused, watching him. She knew it was Shay but why was he skulking around a dark alley?

Blake stopped with her, following her gaze with narrowed eyes. Shay handed a bag to some other guy, taking lien from him. The guy took off down the alley, thanking Shay as he went. “Guess I can cross witnessing a drug deal off my bucket list now,” Blake chuckled. “That’s the guy that was with my mom yesterday.”

“The guy buying the drugs?”

“No, the one _selling_ them,” She said, the distress in her voice palpable. Blake squeezed her hand and tried to pull her away. But it was too late, Shay was already waving at them and limping over. He still must be sore from when Yang ran him over. “Heya sweetheart, fancy seeing you here,” he said.

She was vaguely listening to him talking, all she could hear was her own thoughts. He was dealing, and as an extension, that meant her mom was dealing. Or she was least involved in this. She wondered if it was dust, she hoped it wasn’t. Blake said Adam was dealing dust too, and that asshole hurt Blake. Maybe Raven knew Adam too.

“Who’s your friend?” Shay asked, eyes trained on Blake. “Wanna come play kitty cat.”

Something in Yang’s mind snapped and before she knew it her fist had connected with Shay’s face, something crunching under it. He fell and Yang was shocked, because she hadn’t actually known she had hit him until it was over. She couldn’t blame herself though, he had it coming. Blake pulled on her arm and started to usher her back to the bike. 

* * *

“How did you bruise _your own_ hand?” Blake asked, thumb rubbing over Yang’s knuckles. They discovered that there was blood on Yang’s fist, not her own, so Blake decided to clean the blood off. “It’s only a bruise.” Yang let out a dry chuckle, eyes softening at how Blake doted on her. Blake had dragged her to the kitchen to wash off the blood. 

“You’re right, I’m more worried about the other guy.”

“Sorry again... y’know for causing a scene.”

“Causing a scene in an empty car park?” Blake giggled, eyelashes fluttering up to the blonde. Yang giggled and placed her hands down on the kitchen table, looked down at it sheepishly. “Well I’m fine, what about you though?” Blake asked, hand tilting Yang’s chin up. She narrowed her eyes. “It’s only a bruise Blake...”

The faunus girl shook her head, “You know what I mean.” Yang sighed and ran her tongue along her teeth. “I think I already knew my mom was shady and I just didn’t want to believe it.” Blake cupped her cheek, leaning her head against Yang’s other cheek. “I’m sorry babe...” she said, placing a chaste kiss to Yang’s cheek. 

“Don’t be, I don’t need her,” Yang said, gently nudging Blake’s face upwards until their noses touched. “I’ve got you.” Blake smiled, heart fluttering as Yang captured her lips. She moaned into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of Yang being on her. 

“ _YANG XIAO-LONG DOOOOOONG!_ ”

They both pulled away from each other, confused looks on their faces. “Am I hearing things or was that Coco?” They both laughed and Blake nodded at her, lost for words. “No, you definitely heard her,” Blake said and both of them skated to the front door. “How the hell does she know where I live?” 

Yang shrugged and swung the door open to a gaggle of drunkards. Weiss waved at them as she tried to park her car, clearly far too drunk to be driving. Ruby was sat in the back seat, struggling to figure out how to get her seatbelt off and Velvet was bent over trying to help. 

“Why are you guys here?” Yang asked, genuinely confused at what she was witnessing. Coco upturned her nose and shook her head, taking a drink from the bottle she had in her hand. “That party was dog _ssshhit_ ,” she slurred and waved her finger in the air. “But seeing Nebula jealous was priceless, nice one with the insta pic.” She flashed a thumbs up at Blake, who grinned in return. 

Ruby and Velvet managed to escape from the car, coming over to join Coco where she stood in the driveway. Velvet slipped under Coco’s arm, lighting up a cigarette, whilst Ruby staggered aimlessly. They all turned to look at Weiss, who’s hand had came down on the car horn as she lifted herself out of the vehicle. Blake watched one of her neighbours snatch back the curtains to glare at them. 

“ _Jesus_... if you guys are coming in hurry up,” she said, arm waving to usher them inside. Yang moved away from the door to give them enough space to walk inside and gawked at the bag full of alcohol. Blake guided them all into the backyard, deciding that would be the safest place to be if anything got spilled or smashed. 

They all plopped down onto the benches at the far side of the garden. “Where’d you guys get all of the booze?” Yang asked, taking her jacket off to give to Blake when she saw her rubbing her arms. “It used to be Cardin’s then I took it,” Ruby said, rolling her head along the back of the bench. “And you guys left because..?” One of Blake’s ears flicked back. 

“I was sick of listening to Nebula and those other cheerleaders, even Sun was getting on my nerves, so me and Velvet left.” Coco gestured between her and Velvet, who nodded as she let out a cloud of smoke. “Then me and Weiss ran out so we gave them a lift, now we’re here.” Ruby shrugged, hands landing on her head. 

Yang was about to speak again and question why they were here in the first place, but her phone rang in her trouser pocket. She pulled it out and saw the unknown number, but answered anyway. “ _Hello_?” She said, standing and walking a few steps away from where she sat. “Hi Yang, it’s Kali.” Yang’s eyes widened, eyebrows perking up. “Oh, hi mrs Belladonna.” 

She looked back to Blake and mouthed, “It’s your mom.” Yang walked off towards the house, giving herself some privacy with her phone call.

“Listen, I got a phone call from a detective Ebi-“ Yang sighed and shook her head, she was gonna kill him. “But I haven’t told Ghira about what happened yet.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you in the first place.” Yang winced, feeling badly about keeping this from her. “He said Blake didn’t want to tell me because she didn’t want me to worry. I couldn’t care when I was told about it, I care about if my daughters safe.” The blonde nodded even though Kali couldn’t see her. She understood where this was going. “Is Blake safe? Should I be worried?” 

Yang looked over at Blake, who was accepting a bottle from Ruby as her sister divided her spoils. She looked happy, content. She had been all day. 

“She’s safe...” Yang gulped, trying not to hesitate. “I promise, you don’t have to worry.” 

“Okay... what’ve the two of you been up to anyway?” Yang laughed at Kali’s happy voice, the tone shifting entirely. “Nothing really, we went out for dinner earlier but apart from that we’ve just kind of lazed around.” She decided to refrain from mentioning how she punched a drug dealer, that wouldn’t score her extra points. 

“Blake said you work on Saturdays?”

“Yeah, I slept in but my boss was fine with it. I’ve never been late before so she called to see what’d happened.” 

“Late night?”

“Yeah, she kept me up and I ended up forgetting about my alarm for work.” There was a pause, and Yang realised how that might have been suggestive. “N-Not like _that_ \- we ended up sleeping on the sofa and watching this cooking show.” There was a long, unconvinced ‘ _mhm_ ’ that rang across the phone and she realised Kali’s teasing nature extended all the way from Mistral. 

“ _Uh_ , how’s your spa weekend?” Yang raised both her eyebrows as she looked back across the garden and saw Blake taking a drag from Velvet’s cigarette. Not something she expected to see tonight. “It’s been good, that call from the detective made me get a second massage.” 

“Sorry again, I promise Blake’s fine though.” 

“Good... okay, that’s all the interrogation I’ve got in me today,” Kali laughed “I’ll call again tomorrow.” 

“Alright... night mrs Belladonna.”

“I thought I told you to call me Kali?” Yang laughed and apologised again. “Goodnight Yang- oh and tell Blake I’ll talk to her later.” She didn’t get the chance to say that she would do that as Kali had already hung up. She walked back over to the benches, smiling gently as she slid down onto the bench next to Blake. 

“Since when do you smoke?” Yang asked and Blake shrugged. “I don’t, it just looked fun,” she replied, leaning back into Yang for the extra warmth. “What’d my mom want?” 

Yang shook her head, “She was just checking up on us.” Blake hummed, satisfied with that response, head leaning back against Yang’s chest. The blonde dipped her head down to kiss her, slow and sensual, she could taste the smoke and vodka on her lips. 

“Yang, you’re sister is _right_ here.”

“Don’t be a prude Schnee, we’re all gay here.” Velvet said, throwing her bottle cap at Weiss. Blake grinned and looked over at Weiss. “My house my rules.”

”There’s no rule against insufferably cute?”

”Nope.”

* * *

Blake had bravely decided to sleep in her room again that night, which might have been due to the spirits she had been drinking earlier with everyone. 

Although she found that she couldn’t actually fall asleep, eyes often wandering to the window, constantly checking to see if Adam was there. Yang’s hold on her tightened, biceps bulging as she tried to squeeze Blake closer, mushing their bodies together. 

“I can stay up,” Yang said, her voice hoarse from sleep- or _not_ sleeping since she was still awake. “What?” Blake questioned. She knew what she meant but she thought that if she asked then Yang might drop it. “I can stay up so you can fall asleep.” 

“I can’t ask you to do that.” 

“Then don’t, I’ll just... _stay up_. And if it happens that you fall asleep then great.” 

Blake sighed and readjusted herself, head resting on Yang’s chest, arm slung over and playing with a stray strand of her hair. “Why’re you so stubborn all the time?” Yang chuckled and Blake heard the low rumble in her chest. “Why are _you_ so stubborn all the time?” Blake chuckled airily and nuzzled her face against her chest. 

“Guess I’ve met my match.” Yang hummed in agreement, hand rubbing Blake’s arm. “It was funny when everyone turned up earlier.” 

“Yeah, hilarious when Weiss almost crashed her car into the neighbours house.” 

“I know you’re being sarcastic but you’ve got to admit, seeing _Weiss_ do that is funny.” They both laughed. “Yeah... that’s true.” Yang pressed a kiss to the top of her faunus ear, causing it to twitch from their sensitivity. She glanced over at the window one last time, even though the curtains were closed she knew he wasn’t there. Her eyes fell closed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no creativity, of course Clover is the cop. I should also stop editing these chapters at 3am like a psychopath.


	18. Continue As Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake spend the day with Blake’s parents and Blake tries her hardest to understand football. 
> 
> It’s straight up fluff.

Yang woke up to the sound of a car coming up the driveway. She hazily thought that it was a good thing she moved her bike to the side. The blonde sighed, breathing slow, still half asleep. She knew it was Blake’s parents coming back from their weekend away. She hoped they hadn’t come back early.

Yang opened her eyes slightly, head half turning to place a kiss on Blake’s head. She was still asleep. Yang thought she looked so peaceful in her slumber, happy and warm in her embrace. Her hand slid up Blake’s arm, a little stiff from the way she had been lying. She closed her eyes again and nuzzled her nose into Blake’s hair. Maybe it was weird but she liked the soft feeling of it.

The door slid open, brushing against the carpet. Yang glanced over to see Kali, smiling gently and walking inside. The blonde winced and whispered “You didn’t come back because of-“ Kali cut her off by shaking her head, mouthing ‘ _No_.’

“Sienna Khan moved the meetings to Vale, saying she had urgent business over here.” Yang nodded. She didn’t understand a lot about it but was sure Blake did. If she were awake she would probably be asking a million questions. Kali giggled and shook her head as she looked down at Blake, who seemed none the wiser that her mom was in the room.

Kali’s giggles subsided into a warm, thin lipped smile, something about her expression was soft and unrecognisable to Yang. She supposed it was motherly and she had just never experienced that before. The woman reached forward, pinching at Yang’s cheek as she laughed quietly. “Ghira’s gone off to work again but I’ll make some breakfast.”

“Thank you,” Yang said and Blake stirred in her arms. “Who are you talking to?” She said, huffing through her nose.

“You’re mom.”

Blake’s eyes opened slowly and she rolled them once she saw her mom standing there, which Kali laughed at. Blake turned away and tucked her face into the crook of Yang’s neck. “Five more minutes.” Yang and Kali laughed again, the older woman taking a few steps towards the door. “Don’t go back to sleep, I’m making breakfast.” She said as she left the room, leaning the door ajar.

Blake let out an outdrawn groan. “So... you’re mom’s back.”

“Which means you’re going home later...” Blake sighed, her warm breath making Yang’s hairs stand on end. “Do you think I could push my luck and ask if you can stay tonight?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’m too used to using you as a pillow now though,” Blake mumbled, sitting up slightly and looking at Yang with glazed over eyes. “I think you’ll find pillows don’t talk babe.”

“You’ve never heard of pillow talk?” They both both laughed quietly, smiling as their bodies shook. Blake bit her lip and wrinkled her nose, “I can’t believe I’m picking up on your shitty humour.” Yang hummed and her eyes fell over to the door, seeing an ear flicker. She smiled and nodded towards the door, Blake following her gaze.

Blake laughed and shook her head, “Back for five minutes and she’s back at it.” Yang didn’t know how it felt to have a mom who would pry into your every move. But she grinned and shrugged. She figured she should enjoy the secondhand motherhood from Kali. 

* * *

“Where’s dad?” Blake asked, pushing Yang down onto the sofa to sit. 

“Work, work and _more_ work.” 

“So nothing unusual then.” Blake flicked her eyebrows, not at all surprised by Ghira going off to work. It’s all he ever seemed to do since she was young. Kali nodded and crossed her legs, slippers half hanging off of her feet. Yang felt her eyelids grow heavy as she sat down. She honestly hadn’t slept that much, staying awake as long as she could in case Blake woke up and panicked. 

“I got up because I thought I was getting fed, where’s my food mother?” Blake laughed, leaning against Yang. She realised that she should really lay off of the PDA in front of her mom, but she was almost certain her mom didn’t care. “I’ll make something soon,” Kali said, waving her off as she took a sip from her tea. 

“By the way, why did the neighbours call me saying that my ‘ _hooligan_ ’ daughter was making a racket?” Yang had to resist the urge to laugh, images of Weiss drunk driving coming back to her. “ _Not us_ ,” Blake said, ginger wagging between herself and Yang. “A couple of our friends came over and they were drunk.” 

“I assumed as much- they can shove their complaints up their ass anyway. A few noise complaints will be nothing compared to the thrashing she’ll get at the baking competition this week!” 

Blake chuckled and shook her head, ears flicking back in what looked like annoyance. Yang chuckled as well, sitting forward so she could stop herself from falling asleep. “You’re in a baking comp mrs- er, _Kali_?” The woman nodded and smirked, amused at Yang trying not to call her mrs Belladonna. “Yes, it was the neighbours that got me involved in it, I bet they’re regretting it now.” 

“You’re Yang levels of cocky right now mom.”

“None taken.” The blonde laughed and nudged Blake’s shoulder, making her laugh as well. Kali smiled and settled herself in her seat, as if she was waiting. Blake raised an eyebrow and Yang’s heart sped. Blake turned, her head swivelling between her mom and Yang. Kali sat with that same smile and Yang gulped.

“ _You told her!_ ” Blake spat, eyes furious and slapping on her arm. Yang shook her head, “ _No_! Clover did!” Blake muttered a string of profanities under her breath and huffed, budging away on the sofa, the lack of contact between them a sure sign that she was annoyed. Kali sighed. “Clover told me then I mentioned to Yang last night, don’t be mad at her.”

Blake’s ears flicked backwards and she made an effort to keep them pointed, pouting like a child. As mature as she was, Blake sure did act like a child sometimes. “Is that why you’re back early?” Blake said quietly, a frown crossing her features. Yang couldn’t help but feel bad. Kali shrugged, “Sienna Khan said she had to come over to Vale and changed the meeting location.” Blake still looked unconvinced, there was a tension now, a lack of trust. “It was a coincidence.” Kali resigned herself to her tea.

Yang reached her hand over, gently grabbing hold of Blake’s wrist and drawing small circles, feeling her pulse. Her ears slowly came back forward as she turned, Yang smiled, thin lipped and making the skin around her eyes crease. Blake couldn’t even pretend to stay angry. “Yang assured me you were safe and sound. I wouldn’t have abandoned my masseuse if I didn’t have to,” Kali chuckled, leaning forward to put her empty mug on the floor. 

“What did Adam do anyway?” Her mother was looking over at both of them, expecting an answer. Yang looked to Blake, because she herself didn’t know. To Yang the situation had been her waking in the middle of the night to Blake screaming and sobbing like he had tried to kill her. Maybe he did. Blake looked down at her feet and shook her head. “He was just... outside the window. _Staring_.” Yang could understand now why she had screamed. It wasn’t the act itself it was the unsettling aura that the act exudes.

“Then when I saw him he left, he obviously didn’t want to get caught but- it just sounds so stupid saying it out loud,” Blake said, hand running through her bangs. Yang squeezed her hand, reassuring her. “It’s not stupid,” Kali and Yang said at almost the same time, they smiled at each other then back at Blake. “Yang called Clover and he came over to see what had happened, then we just slept on the sofa.” Kali nodded, a question on her lips. “How do you know that detective?”

“My uncle’s friends with him and he’s always on night shift as far as I know. So I just called him.”

Despite all the conversation, Yang still felt her eyelids growing heavy, blinking slowly and breathing slower. Blake rubbed her bicep, she had caught on to how tired Yang still was. The blonde had only gotten a few hours sleep, it showed. Kali nodded at her, “You can go back to bed if you like.” She shook her head. “It’s fine,” she said.

“Go back to bed and I’ll come with you,” Blake said and the slight upturn of Yang’s lips was more than enough for affirmation. The blonde looked between the other two faunus, both of them chuckling at her. She smiled and scratched the back of her head. “Okay... thanks,” Yang said, grunting as she stood up. She smiled at them both as she left and went upstairs.

“I’m glad she was here with you,” Kali said. She turned her head to look out the window, calm grey skies, clouded over, a downpour on the way. Blake nodded, a silent agreement. She didn’t know what would have happened if Yang hadn’t been there, she suspected Adam might have done more than just sit outside the window. That was the scary part wasn’t it? “I’m sorry I didn’t mention it to you.” Blake felt a little guilty. Of course her mom would worry.

“It’s alright. You didn’t want to worry me or your father... the main thing is that you’re alright.” Kali turned away from the window to face Blake, smirking. “So, the candles in the trash and the bed sheets in the hamper. Should I just _assume_ what happened?” She giggled, an amusement in her voice that shook Blake to her core. She buried her face in her hands, a blush creeping up her neck and spreading on her face. This might have been the worst embarrassment she had ever received from her mom.

“I’ll just assume that-“

“ _Mom, please!_ ”

“Okay, _okay_ ,” Kali laughed, delighted with herself. Blake thought that her mom said these things on some sort of sadistic whim. She took a moment to settle herself, accepting the embarrassment of her mom knowing that she had sex with Yang at some point this weekend. She always thought she’d date someone and that she wouldn’t be embarrassed about her mom knowing. But... she was only human- or well, faunus. Blake stood up. “I’m gonna go back upstairs, so much for breakfast.” She smirked.

Kali hummed and reached over to the table for the tv remote. “Oh, before you go,” she said and Blake stopped to look at her. “I think there’s more candles in the kitchen.” Blake picked a cushion up off of the sofa and chucked it at her, Kali laughing uproariously the entire time. She wondered if it was just a mother thing.

The embarrassment subsided and Blake went upstairs. She noticed how the rain battered off of the window as she opened the bedroom door. Yang looked as if she had fallen back asleep, one arm behind her head and the other flat across Blake’s side of the bed, waiting for Blake to take her rightful place on top of it so she could pull her close.

Blake crawled across the bed, nudging Yang’s leg slightly even with her best efforts not to disturb her. She pulled the covers back and slid under, lying on top of Yang’s arm as intended. The blonde sensed her there; arm curling to wrap around her. Blake ran her hand through Yang’s bangs- or at least it qualified as bangs. It was honestly just a mess of hair that she assumed was a fringe. She loved how soft her hair was. Loved how tousled and mussed it would get in her sleep.

She pulled the covers up further and rested her head in the space between Yang’s neck and her shoulder, tucking her face into that space. She inhaled and smelt the scent of her own shampoo, yet there was something else that she could only describe as Yang’s scent. It was comforting. The blonde stirred and tilted her head towards Blake, sighing.

Blake wished she could stay over all the time now. She had grown used to waking up and falling asleep beside her. 

* * *

Yang felt herself come to and she had no clue what time it was, but could register that it was raining outside and that Blake was now asleep beside her. She glanced over at the window, which looked like it had been painted grey, no sign of anything outside. Her head lolled over to look at Blake, lying on her side, hugging the pillow with one hand whilst the other was locked around Yang’s own. 

She rolled over, other arm wrapping around Blake and pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck. She mumbled something in dissatisfaction of being woken and gripped onto Yang’s hand tighter, pushing her face farther into the pillow. Yang laughed and placed a trail of kisses up her neck, stopping just below her ear. Blake mumbled something again and drooped backwards, her back flush against Yang. The blonde hugged her tighter and nuzzled into Blake’s neck, enjoying the comfort.

“This is nice...” Blake whispered, feeling like that’s what the moment required, that if she spoke any louder it would be ruined. Yang knew exactly what she was referring to. The rain beating down, the dull serenity that came in through the window. How they were cuddled up and warm under the covers. “Yeah... this is nice.” Yang sighed.

“Do you know that you barely ever move in your sleep? It’s like your dead,” Blake giggled half heartedly. Yang laughed, a few puffs of air from her nose and she smiled against her. “Yeah, you find a way to get yourself comfy anyway,” Yang said, still making sure to keep her voice quiet. Blake began to twist onto her back and Yang slid her arm out from under her, using it to prop herself up.

She smiled down at Blake, thinking about how beautiful she looked in that moment, how her hair glittered in the faint light, like ink had been spilled across the pillow in the most graceful of ways. “There she is,” Yang said playfully. Blake smiled, toothy and cute. “Hey gorgeous.” She winked and leaned down to kiss her whilst Blake giggled, something that sounded like it came from deep in her chest.

“Hi,” Blake replied as Yang pulled back, returning to floating above her, on standby in case she was wanted again. Blake’s hand moved up until she was holding up Yang’s jaw, index finger rubbing her cheek whilst her thumb traced over her bottom lip. She felt the skin catch slightly as her thumb brushed over a small scar on Yang’s lip, a football injury long forgotten. The blonde smiled.

Both of their attentions snapped to the door when they heard it glide over the carpet, Kali coming out from behind it. “Do you just wait outside my door until you hear us talking?” Blake giggled and Yang slowly drew back from her, leaning on her elbow. Kali shrugged. “Basically, you’re father got back a little while ago, but guess where he went?”

“His office?”

“Yes.” They both feigned a shocked expression and gasped. They laughed, Yang laughing with them so it wouldn’t be awkward. “What time’s it?” Blake asked, nodding at her mom. “Ten o’ clock, you’ve only been asleep for a little while.” She looked at Yang, eyes scanning her face, Blake didn’t know what she was looking for but felt relieved that she smiled, satisfied with whatever she found.

“I’ve _actually_ made breakfast now, so you can both come down whenever you want.” She nodded and left again, making it a point to leave the door open. Yang flopped onto her back and stretched her limbs out, groaning as she did so. Blake watched as her mother reappeared at the gap in the door, eyes narrowed. She walked away again. Blake rolled her eyes.

The blonde rolled out of bed, already moving to get dressed. Blake remembered her weird rule about being dressed for breakfast, then remembered that the other morning she was happy to chill in her pyjamas with Blake. Maybe she just felt more comfortable when they were alone. She understood that.

Blake went downstairs first, leaving Yang to get dressed. Her mom was already setting plates full of food down onto the table and Blake laughed at how Kali lived up to her promise of giving Yang a big breakfast. Kali raised an eyebrow at her as she sat down, sliding two glasses of juice across the table. “She’s getting dressed before she comes down.” Her mom nodded.

Blake rolled one of the sausages on her plate with her fork, thinking of what to say next. “Can Yang stay again tonight?” She asked, eyes flicking up from her plate. Her mom nodded. “If I hear a thing-“

“Mom, _why_ would we do that when you’re in the house? And why do you think that’s all we do?” Blake growled. It was too early for this mental gymnastics she had to do. They both paused to look at Yang as she walked in, sniffing exaggeratedly. “Smells and looks good,” the blonde said, pulling a chair out to sit down. “I think your cooking competition is already won.” 

Kali smiled, triumphant and cocky, ego swelling at the appraisal of her food. Blake sighed, all she needed was for her mom to become insufferably arrogant. “I see that charm now,” Kali said, smirking. “Blake was just begging for me to let you stay tonight.” Blake closed her eyes and realised that her mom and Yang had the same teasing smile. She began quietly eating her breakfast.

“You just couldn’t bear to see me go?” Yang grinned and reached for her cutlery upon Kali motioning for her to do so. Blake pouted, chewing slowly to buy herself time. “I got used to you being here,” she said and Yang’s smiled broadened at that answer. All she was doing was stroking her ego. Yang looked over to Kali, seeking her approval, a silent question of ‘ _is this allowed_ ’ being asked.

“You can stay if you like,” Kali said and stood up, picking up a plate of food to take upstairs to Ghira. Yang started cutting into her food and Blake couldn’t help but think that maybe she wanted to go home, to get away from all the drama of the weekend. She wouldn’t blame her. “I need to go home and pick up some stuff but that won’t take long,” she said and Blake glanced over to the window, the rain still battering down.

“I could drive you, you’ll get soaked if you go on your bike-“

“Wait, back up,” Yang said, waving her hands in the air. “You can _drive_?!”

“Yeah, I just don’t have a car.” Yang still looked baffled, but she supposed that this might have been something that should’ve came up in the month or so that they’d known each other. “I probably should’ve mentioned,” Blake gulped, feeling like she had made a mistake. “It’s just that my dad uses his car a lot so I don’t really have the chance to actually drive.”

“I wish I could drive a car, I could never do it but driving a bike came easy for me.” Yang shrugged and continued to eat. Blake just giggled and rolled her eyes fondly.

* * *

Blake was granted use of her dad’s car, he wouldn’t be needing it for a few hours anyway. It felt weird for Yang to be in the passenger seat whilst Blake drove, in fact it felt weird to be in a car in general. She always had her bike; rain, snow or shine she always drove herself around. 

“Y’know something,” Yang says. “It’s weirdly hot to watch you drive.” 

“I prefer when you drive.” There was a slight husk to Blake’s voice and the way her throat bobbed as she gulped that gave her away. Yang had only meant it as a passing comment but, that wasn’t a casual reaction. “ _Oh_? You like being all pressed up against me?” 

“I’m not answering that.” Blake pursed her lips and shook her head, not taking the bait. “You want me,” Yang sniggered as the car pulled up outside of her house. “I want you to go get your stuff.” The two of them got out of the car, hurrying to the door to avoid the rain. Blake had already expressed before they left that she looked a mess, but Yang liked the sleep addled look she had. She thought it was cute. 

Qrow’s head poked out from the living room as soon as they opened the door, smirking when he saw his niece walk in. “The prodigal daughter has returned,” he quipped and directed a wave at Blake. She smiled and waved back. “I’m grabbing some school stuff then I’m staying at Blake’s again, is that okay?” She asked, wiping her shoes on the doormat. 

“Sure- _oh_! And c’mere when you’ve got a second,” he said, waving his arm in the air. She nodded and led Blake upstairs. She glanced into Ruby’s bedroom as she passed by; empty. She assumed that she was with Weiss. Entering her own bedroom felt strange, she had grown used to the soothing purple of Blake’s room and it made the yellow walls in her own seem too bright. 

“I like the colour,” Blake said, as if she had heard Yang’s thoughts and gestured to the wall. “You never really think yellow would be nice until you actually see it on a wall.” 

“I like your room, it’s really... tranquil.” She reached out and grabbed her rucksack off of her desk. She was suddenly aware how small her bedroom was compared to Blake’s as well, only able to squeeze in a bed, a desk and some drawers. Shelves hanging above her headboard. She remembered when she first put up those shelves, her dad had helped too. Qrow had rudely made a joke about it that Yang didn’t want to remember. 

“I like how cozy it is though, it just feels warm.” Blake hugged her abdomen, tugging Yang’s jacket closer around her. The sentiment wasn’t lost on the blonde. The raven haired girl sighed and reached out, taking the backpack from Yang, which she immediately tried to grab back. “It’s fine, I’ll take this out to the car and you can talk to your uncle,” Blake said, ears standing on end as she smiled and Yang couldn’t argue, not when she looked so happy.

She wanted to retain that happy mood, put in all the effort she could to keep it there for as long as she could. Blake half turned to leave but Yang caught her hand, drawing her attention back. “Wait I need to give you these books back,” she said, already reaching up to her shelf and sliding the books out. “You finished them already?” Blake asked, both amused and a little surprised.

Yang nodded and reached for a small canvas bag that lay under her bed, piling the books inside of it. “Yeah, you said to read them so I did.” She smirked and kept hold of the bag, not relenting to Blake this time. “I’ll need to give you some more...” she said but there was a slight downcast to her eyes. The blonde followed Blake out of the room, only stopping at the bottom of the stairwell.

She winked at Blake, who stopped to giggle at her before leaving to go back out to the car. She didn’t know what that vaguely sad look had been a few moments ago, but she would’ve gotten down on her knees and took back every word if that would have made it better. But, she digressed and went to the living room, where Qrow sat alone. “Where’s dad?” Yang asked.

Qrow shrugged and mumbled something about Zwei, not important enough to merit its own sentence. “Clover called and told me about what happened-“

“I don’t know what part of ‘don’t tell anyone’ he does understand.”

“Relax, he only told me. If he would’ve told Tai you’d be banned from even seeing your girlfriend,” he says, shrugging. Yang could see where he was coming from. “What happened though, are you two alright?”

Yang upturned one of her nostrils and shrugged again, she didn’t really know how to reply. “It was weird, I just woke up to Blake screaming and that scared me more than anything.” Qrow hummed and nodded, sitting forward to reach for his cigarettes. “I wasn’t scared of the actual guy I’ve saw him before- I could take him.”

“ _Naturally_.”

“Also this weird thing happened the other night with my mom-“

“You saw Raven?” Qrow interjected, genuinely perplexed by what she had just said. Yang nodded. “Yeah, she was at the garage with this guy, _junkie_ , she said he was a work associate, then-“ Qrow’s eyes widened, not expecting there to be more to this sorry. “I saw that same guy the other night around the back alley of a restaurant selling drugs.”

Qrow paused. He let out a breath and softly shook his head, reaching for his lighter. He continued to carry on with his disproving gestures as he took a drag from his cigarette. He pointed it at her, the ashy end threatening to fall off, “Don’t talk to her for now, I need to look into this.”

“Qrow, you’re a politics teacher, not the FBI,” Yang laughed. Qrow snarled and waved her off, tipping the end of his cigarette into the ash tray. “So because you’re not drinking you need to stink up the house with smoke.” She smirked and walked over to the window, cracking it open to let in the fresh air. “Oz confiscated my flask so I’m smoking instead- you don’t need to stick around and talk to me, I can see your itching to get outta here.”

She tilted her head to side, glancing out the open window. Blake sat in the car, tapping away on her phone, ears flicking aimlessly. She couldn’t deny, she was dying to get back to Blake. She sighed, “Alright, you’ll tell dad that I’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll let him know.” 

* * *

Blake and Yang sat in, what Blake believed to be, the longest bout of silence between them. They had the laptop sitting on the bed, a sitcom they had both seen a million times playing as they couldn’t find anything to watch. Blake watched as Yang ran her fingers over her bookshelf, fingers tapping on each spine, contemplating which one to pick out.

Blake loved how eager she was to read her books, especially her favourites. Always volunteering to watch the movies or shows based on those books and all too happy to listen to Blake’s commentary on it. But... the raven haired girl sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She felt shitty, because she felt like she made no effort at all. Then something occurred to her.

_Football_. She knew absolutely nothing about it and it was a major part of Yang’s life. “Yang,” She called out and watched as Yang whipped round, hand gripping onto the top of the bookshelf to keep her upright. “What position do you play?” Yang blinked a few times and Blake felt mildly embarrassed, she should have already known this information.

“Since when do you like football?”

“It’s not that I _don’t_ like it,” she said, quick to defend. “It’s just that I don’t know a lot about it.” Yang nodded slowly, grinning and chuckling. “And you’re interested now because?”

“Because you are my girlfriend and the football captain, so I think I should know _something_ about it.”

Yang smiled and leaned against the bookshelf, very amused at what she was hearing. “I’m the running back, which is uncommon for the captain because it’s the quarterback that has to make the first pass.” Blake nodded, cogs and gears whirring inside her head to try and process this, sports weren’t really her forte. “Coco is the quarterback, so if I tell her a play and she thinks otherwise she can change it. But usually she’ll stick with it because I’ve got a better view of the defence than her.”

Blake nodded, it made sense so far. “Who’s your coach?” She asked, and Yang choked, cheeks flushing. “Well Ozpin is our coach but he generally just lets us do whatever.“

“So you basically don’t have a coach?”

“Personally I think that’s a skill, because we’ve won almost every match this season.” The blonde laughed nervously, scratching at the back of her neck. Blake let out a small laugh and felt a little better for knowing nothing about football. She was willing to be most of Yang’s team knew nothing either. “Is there videos of your matches?” Blake asked, already grabbing at her laptop to have a look.

Yang was already hurrying over, diving for the laptop, “Please no, some of the videos are horrible!” Blake could only giggle in response, fingers typing faster, desperate to find said videos. Yang eventually relented (although she hadn’t tried that hard to get the laptop in the first place) and helped Blake pick out a video. Blake was immediately suspicious of how apprehensive her girlfriend was being, dismissing different matches upon sight.

She eventually settled on one of the more recent videos that Yang seemed to deem acceptable.

Blake didn’t even need to be told which one was Yang, she saw the winning smile and the way she waved her arms, heard the compliments and reassurances she yelled to her teammates. Coco wasn’t hard to pick out either, she was yelling a long list of insults at the other team. Blake tilted her head slightly to catch a glance of Yang’s expression and she seemed delighted to be watching herself. That was good enough for Blake.

The blonde curled her arm around her waist and pointed at the screen. “Watch this, Pyrrha felt so bad after it.” Blake watched as Pyrrha accidentally tripped up Nora, who went skidding across the field in almost comical fashion. Blake winced and let out a huff of a laugh, if she was Nora she would’ve been in tears. It was in the next few minutes of watching that Blake was genuinely impressed, seeing them rack up points as though they were professional athletes.

There was a soft knock on the door and they both looked up at Ghira. He smiled. “What are you both watching?” He asked, leaning on the door handle by his hand. “Football,” Blake replied, smiling coyly. The confused look on her dad’s face was expected, before when she had tried to sit down with him and watch the sport she had shown no interest whatsoever. That had recently changed.

“Yang’s matches are online,” she said and tapped her finger off of the space bar to pause the video. “Do you want to watch as well Mr Belladonna?” Yang asked politely and there was a certain cockiness about her that Blake rolled her eyes at. Yang was good and she knew it, having Blake tell her only spurred her on. Ghira nodded, grinning and seeming genuinely interested in this proposition.

“We can probably get them on the tv downstairs,” He said and nodded to himself. “Would that be alright?”

Yang and Blake exchanged a glance and nodded at him, he looked pleased. Ghira left, skipping downstairs, heavy footsteps on the stairs. He expected them to follow. “My dads super into football,” Blake said, switching off the laptop and sliding it to the side. Yang nodded and seemed more nervous now.

“Found the videos!” Ghira boomed from downstairs and Yang paled. Blake rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance, “What is it?”

“There’s just a ton of matches where I get pretty beat up... I guess I just didn’t want you to see that.” Yang shrugged, sighing as well. Blake giggled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, sliding half off of the bed to stand up. “I’d love to see you afterwards, all mopey and licking your wounds.” Yang followed after her, arms wrapping around her waist.

“Maybe next time you could like my wounds for me,” she whispered and gained a blush from Blake, one that crept up her neck and to the tips of her ears. “I was only joking...” Yang giggled, her own cheeks painted scarlet now as well. “Let’s just go before I die in here,” Blake said, pursing her lips and shaking her head.

They had both recomposed themselves by the time they got to the living room and found both of Blake’s parents engrossed in one of Yang’s matches. “Funny, this is the match where my lip got burst,” Yang said, nudging Blake with her elbow. The raven haired girl led her to the sofa and had to admit, she was interested in seeing what happened. How did she get hurt so badly that it left a scar? She was intrigued (and aware that being interested in this was extremely fucked up).

“You’re the captain Yang?” Ghira asked, not taking his eyes off of the screen. “Yeah, I’m the captain. I play running back.” Blake was far too proud to know that, despite just finding out that information. She watched Yang crash into someone on the screen to help Coco through and winced, feeling bad for the person on the ground. “You’re team’s rowdy,” Kali said laughing. 

“Yeah, I can’t control them so I apologise for anything that happens.”

“You’re just as bad as them, you might be worse than Coco.”

“Thanks Blake.”

They continued watching and Blake found out that Yang played two positions, running back and linebacker. Blake was way too proud to be catching on so quickly. Blake also saw that her dad looked far too proud, something happy on his face that made her smile. Then was the moment Blake had been waiting to see, someone smashed into Yang and blood flew in the air as she was knocked back, Coco and Pyrrha immediately rushing over.

“It was _that_ bad?!” Blake sputtered, surprised at the amount of blood on Yang’s face and baffled at how she was standing up like she hadn’t been hit at all. She heard Kali mutter something, appalled at what she was seeing. “Did it scar?” Ghira asked, looking over at her. Yang nodded and ran her thumb over her bottom lip. “Yeah, it took days to heal- what really annoyed me was that other girl didn’t get benched because she did that on purpose.” Ghira nodded and said something in response, annoyed at it himself.

“I can’t believe we’re bonding over your horrible disfigurement.” Blake scrunched up her nose and Yang smirked. “And here I thought it was adding to my roguish charm.”

“The only rogue thing about you is your hair,” she ruffled Yang’s bangs. “It can’t be tamed.” The blonde chuckled and rolled her eyes, accepting her teasing. Blake thought about how normal the situation felt, sitting with her family, with Yang, just watching tv together. To be fair they were watching Yang get assaulted but that was besides the point. It all just felt so normal and light, like it was meant to be like this.

Blake found that she had a new appreciation for football. 

* * *

“That was _my_ nightmare.” 

“I thought you’d be glad that I’d won over your parents.” Yang smirked, closing the bedroom door behind them, scratching at her fast drying hair. They had taken showers before bed and Yang had made a joke about making sure to take them separately. She was aware that her jokes were quickly becoming more and more inappropriate but she still found herself hilarious. As did Ghira apparently, laughing along with her. 

Blake narrowed her eyes and pouted at her, hair tie in her lips as she fixed her hair into a bun. “You have to admit, rewatching the part of Ruby’s race where Weiss jumped onto the field was hilarious.” Blake snickered and nodded. “True, my mom got a kick out of that too,” Blake said as she finished fixing her hair. There was a faint sound of music coming from downstairs, presumably either Kali or Ghira were playing it from the living room.

Yang began swaying and jutting her shoulders in time to the music, smiling as she danced over to Blake. “You’re such a dork,” Blake laughed, continuing to watch her. The blonde took her hand, pulling her into the middle of the room. “Dance with me,” she said, smile never leaving her. “I can’t dance.”

“Really? You were dancing with me at Coco’s.”

“That’s different, that was just swaying and standing next to you- besides I was drunk! If I was bad I had an excuse.”

Yang giggled and took Blake’s other hand in her own, guiding it up to her shoulder. She left it there and let her hand fall back to her waist, their other two hands intertwined and dangling in the air. “You can do this can’t you?” She asked, guiding them both into rocking around in a circle. “Everyone can do this,” Blake stated, flicking an eyebrow at her. Yang hummed in response and continued to drag Blake around with her.

“Why are we dancing again?”

“Because it’s fun,” they both giggled. “Sorry nerd, would you rather read in silence?”

“You’ve been doing that more than me lately.” Yang’s head lilted to the side and she nodded, a thin lipped smile making her cheeks ball up. It was a cute look. “Are you good at dancing?” 

“Kind of, when me and Ruby were kids Qrow took us to dance classes.”

“Were the classes good?”

“No, we hated them.” They giggled together again. “So instead my dad told us to take up sports-“

“And twenty years later you both became professional athletes with multimillion lien mansions.” Yang faked a gasp, brows furrowing in feigned anger. “ _I knew_ you were only in it for my money.”

“I used to go to gymnastics as a kid,” Blake said, and Yang nodded for her to continue. “I loved it, I think my mom still has all my old trophies.”

“All of the ‘ _nice try_ ’ medals?”

“Screw you, I came in first place a few times.”

“Maybe you should be a cheerleader.”

“Yeah I’ll become a cheerleader and face off with Nebula, you really know how to make a girls life easy.” Blake laughed and shook her head, the thought of being a cheerleader seeming ridiculous to her. “Still very sorry about that,” Yang says as she dips her head down to peck at Blake’s lips. “It’s fine, don’t worry. I don’t even know her.” Blake’s hand separated from Yang’s, sliding up her arm and wrapping around the back of her neck.

“My next match is in a couple weeks, you coming?”

“No.”

“Shut up.”

“Obviously I’m coming, I’ll cheer you on from the side lines.” She winked. Yang hummed and kissed her again. Then again. And again- Blake was aware that it was beginning to get a little too heated. The knowledge that they were standing right in front of the door, which could open at any moment, the forefront in her brain. She lightly tapped Yang’s shoulder, slightly pushing her.

She got the message, recoiling at the idea of Blake being uncomfortable. “You’re good it’s just that we’re in the middle of the room.” Yang blinked and let out a small ‘ _oh_ ’, she had forgotten where they were for a moment. Blake leaned herself backwards, arms still locked around Yang’s neck and knowing she wouldn’t let her fall. It was just fun to stand like this. “So what movies have I yet to watch?” Yang asked, smirking.

“A few, the same way as I’ve still got more football games of yours to watch.” She smiled and something clicked for both of them, a small glimmer in both of their eyes at the same time. “ _Or_ we could watch something different, something _new_?”

“I’d like that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quarantine quiz nights kept this chapter from getting up sooner but it was worth it. My friend misquoted ‘elvis has left the building’ as ‘elvis has left the world’ and that shit was hilarious.


	19. Not So Familial Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bees have dinner with Raven, it doesn’t go as smoothly as they hope it would.

The bell rang, echoing throughout the classroom, signalling the change between classes. Yang thought the week was dragging along. The closer it got to exam time the more she realised how little they actually do in classes. Apart from assignments that go towards their final grade, they really did nothing.

She was idly checking her phone, not in any rush to get to her next class. 

**Raven:** any chance we could catch up over dinner later? 

Yang bit her lip, she didn’t know how to reply. Qrow had said that he’d look into what was going on with her and that Yang shouldn’t contact Raven. She grabbed her backpack and decided she would swing by his class to talk with him. Maybe she would go see her mom, ask her a few questions herself. She didn’t know what to do.

The blonde still held the phone in her hand, staring down at the text message. She didn’t know what to reply. Yang had a valid excuse at the weekend, she was spending it with her girlfriend and she was at work. But tonight she only had practice. Which Raven was aware of because she had told her over the phone. She huffed and stuck the phone in her pocket for the time being. Yang spotted Blake from down the hall, waving at her. Blake walked over, smiling all the way.

“Don’t you have metalwork at the other side of the school?” Blake said smugly. She was impressed that Blake remembered her timetable but at the same time she knew hers so... “I do but I’m going to see Qrow first- besides I finished my metalwork project last week. I don’t really _need_ to be there.”

Blake hummed and nodded, gesturing for them to start walking. “Same, Ms Peach said me and Weiss should use this period to study.” Yang leaned forward, pushing the door open for Blake to walk through. She told herself that it was the simple things that Blake could appreciate just as much from her. She knew she was right in the way Blake’s ears tilted forward and she let slip a tiny smile.

They stepped into Qrow’s class, only occupied by a few kids who were scattered around the class, all of them wearing earphones. “Do you think our phones make us less connected?”

“Babe, you sound like a buzzfeed article.”

“True,” Yang mumbled and rested her fists on Qrow’s desk. He didn’t look up at them, or even really acknowledge that they were there. Too absorbed in his own phone to care. “Qrow.” Yang rapped her knuckles off of the desk, trying to get his attention. He grunted and Yang knew that was Qrow for ‘what is it?’

“My mom texted me asking if I wanted to go to dinner with her tonight.” Blake’s head snapped to her, any mention of Raven, which Blake knew to be a delicate matter, took up all of her attention. Yang was grateful. “Why are you telling me?”

“Because _you_ said not to speak to her!”

“ _Alright, alright_ , keep your voice down firecracker,” he let out a puff of air and slicked his hair back. “I know I said that but do you _want_ to go see her?”

Yang sighed, conflicted. On one hand, she could go and ask her mom what the hell was going on, get the truth and be relieved by the answer. But on the other hand, there was the likely possibility that Raven was into some shady stuff and Yang knew that she would lose her temper. She wondered if it was too late to take anger management.

“I can go with you,” Blake said, placing her hand on Yang’s bicep. That was a compromise Yang could live with, if Blake was there she wouldn’t fly off the handle. “Are you sure? You don’t have to,” Yang said. She hoped that Blake would be alright with it but she also didn’t want to force her into an awkward situation.

“Yeah, it means I get to meet her too.”

“Trust me Blake, you don’t want to meet her,” Qrow grumbled, flicking his eyes wider and exhaling exaggeratedly. “I’ll be on standby in case she tries to kill you or something.”

Yang raised an eyebrow at him, he was being more peevish than usual. “What’s wrong?” Yang asked, flicking a small ball of paper off of the desk and towards Qrow. He shook his head and leaned forward, gesturing for them to as well. Blake and Yang glanced at each other then obliged, leaning forward. “Clover called, he asked me to tell you they can’t find Adam Taurus. But there’s a warrant out for his arrest, he didn’t turn up to court yesterday.”

Blake gulped, ears fighting to stay upright and normal. Yang was more pissed off than anything, how could someone vanish into thin air? “Don’t give me that look, Clover’s trying his hardest.” Yang rolled her eyes and nodded, reluctantly accepting that answer. She wouldn’t like to think that he could just appear again.

“Thanks for telling us. _So_ , tonight,” Blake said, changing the subject rather quickly. “Dinner with your mom?” Yang nodded, sighing through her nostrils. She was already more relaxed from just the knowledge that Blake would be there. 

**Yang:** ye that’s kl, is it alright if i bring my gf?

**Raven:** Sure why not, see u tonight 

Yang got the idea that Raven wasn’t too thrilled that she was bringing Blake. Which she didn’t understand... maybe she would ask about that later as well. “Guess my day’s all planned out,” Yang said, half smiling as she put her phone back in her pocket. Blake hummed in agreement and Qrow waved both of them out of the classroom, trying to get his classroom back to normal without the disruption of his niece.

They walked down the hall, just wandering at this point. Blake usually lived in the library whereas Yang would chill at the cafeteria tables. But today they just wandered together. Yang looked over and noticed the small frown on Blake’s face, ears flat against her head and looking a little miffed. She placed a hand on Blake’s waist, pulling her closer. “Are you okay?” She asked and watched as Blake tensed tensed her cheek.

“The Adam thing threw me a little. Just the thought of him still being out there somewhere is... unsettling.”

“I won’t let him touch you.”

“No, I know, but I don’t like that you feel like you _need_ to do that. It’s also just the fact that I know he’ll come back for me.”

Yang spun around, taking both of Blake’s hands in her own as she walked backwards in front of her. “Hey, I know I don’t _need_ to do this, _but I want to._ ” Blake smiled and looked away, a little embarrassed over Yang’s affection. “I know... forget I even mentioned it.”

“Blake Belladonna, I know you didn’t just ‘forget I said anything’d’ me.”

“I did, but only because it’s not a problem right now, what is though is that we’re seeing your mom tonight.” Yang widened her eyes for a moment and groaned, the idea stressing her already. “I’ll wing it and figure out what to say to her later.”

“Well whatever you need,” Blake locked her arms around the back of Yang’s neck, kissing her quickly. “I’m here.” Yang tilted her head to kiss her again, unable to get a few moments without Blake’s touch. “I love you,” she mumbled upon pulling away from her for a moments respite.

The audible clacking of heels caused them to snap away from each other, catching a glimpse of Ozpin walking down the corridor with a mug in his hand, half smirking. “ _Why_ am I not surprised,” He chuckled dryly, this even in front of him being somewhat entertaining to him. “How did it happen Miss Belladonna? Was it as soon as she walked into the office to be your guide? _A real life fairytale?_ ” The more he spoke the more they both knew he was teasing him.

“She gets more bearable when you get to know her,” Blake joked and Yang stuck her elbow into her side, chuckling. Ozpin laughed as well. “Well if you do for some reason break up with her, please do it on the football field. Last time was quite amusing.” Blake raised an eyebrow at Yang, this being one of the (probably) many stories she had yet to hear.

“One of the cheerleaders on the other team that I had spoken to a few times slapped me in the middle of the field.”

“I was told by Ruby that it was more than just ‘speaking’.”

“Sir, do you ever think you’re too involved with my life?”

“I’ve known your dad and Qrow for years and I babysat you and Ruby as children. I’m practically family.” He smirked as he took a drink from his mug, walking off down the hallway. Yang bit her bottom lip and Blake could only laugh at her expense. “If it makes you feel better, I’m sure my dad knows Ozpin as well.”

“It does not, but I appreciate the effort.”

“Also, I thought it was Coco who fooled around the most?”

“Yeah well, you and Velvet put us into retirement.”

“ _Okay_ Hugh Hefner.”

* * *

Blake decided to kill some time before Yang was coming to pick her up again, opting to go home and get changed before they went out again tonight. Blake had done the same but it didn’t take her long. So she decided to go visit Ilia at work- well she said ‘ _work_ ’ but it was really just Ilia sitting around all day and occasionally serving drinks. 

The bell chimed above the door, signalling that Blake had entered. Ilia sat alone behind the counter, idly typing away on her phone. She looked up briefly and smiled, not stopping for a moment to greet Blake. She pouted. After going out of her way to come see Ilia she got the most half assed of greetings. Blake walked around the counter and pulled out one of the stools, plopping herself down next to the other Faunus. 

“Slow day?” 

“Average, no one really comes in around this time,” Ilia said, sliding her phone across the counter. “How was your weekend?”

“Well it got worse before it got better.”

“I know,” Ilia said, brows twisted and eyes locked firmly into Blake. She raised an eyebrow. “ _How_ do you know?”

“Adam was here earlier, I had to lock up shop and threatened to call the cops.” Blake’s blood turned cold. She had definitely jinxed herself by saying he wasn’t a problem earlier. Because Adam turning up at Ilia’s cafe was very much so a problem, because she frequently came here. “Said something about you called the cops on him at the weekend?” Ilia questioned, leaning her elbow on the table.

“ _Yeah_ because he was creeping around outside my house, right outside my bedroom window.”

“Did he get arrested?”

“No but there’s a warrant out for him.” Ilia hummed in acknowledgment, shaking her head as she looked around the room. Blake was still unnerved by the idea that Adam has been here, today, screaming about her. It was almost too coincidental. Like it was on purpose. Or maybe she just had horrible luck. She considered texting Yang to tell her, then decided against it. Yang had enough to worry about and this wasn’t all too urgent.

Although she wasn’t going to jinx it this time and say that Adam wasn’t a problem, he definitely was. Her only defence was that she was always with someone else or on the phone to someone, he wouldn’t dare try anything in front of a witness. But he was getting bolder-

“ _Hello, Blake_!” Ilia laughed and waved her hand in front of Blake’s face. She shook her head, dragging herself out of her thoughts before she had a panic attack. “Sorry, what’d you say?”

“I said, do you want to come over to my place tonight? My girlfriend’s on vacation with her parents so-“

“I’m your next choice?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I’m flattered to be your _second_ choice,”. Blake says dryly, reaching over to the tiny fridge and helping herself to the mineral water that resides there. She was impressed at the brand of water (a sentence she never thought she’d have to think up) because Atlas ice water wasn’t exactly a cheap thing to buy. Blake swore she would never pay three lien for a bottle of water... she might just be really stringent with money.

“Hey! I’m you’re second choice too, you’re always with Yang. I never see you.” The other girl pouted and folded her arms across her chest. Blake rolled her eyes and set her water bottle aside. “I asked you if you wanted to hang out with us and you said no because you thought it would be awkward,” Blake growled, ears pinned back and her left hand flying around to emphasise her point. She had to admit, she missed casual arguments with Ilia. 

“Yes, because _one_ : I would be a third wheel. And _two_ : _I don’t know her_.” 

“It would have been a chance for you to get to know her-“

“We’re getting off track, do you want to hang out later or not?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“....I’m going out with Yang-“

“ ** _THIS IS MY POINT!-_** “

There was a continued back and forth between them that made it easy for Blake to forget all the bad that had happened. Sure, Blake loved her other friends, the fun and teasing nature of them was more than enough to get her through each day. But sometimes she found solace in having petty arguments with Ilia, because there was no malice in it. This was just a stupid thing they often ended up doing. 

Blake’s phone buzzed and it caused her pouting lips to tense, nose wrinkling at Yang’s poor timing. Ilia settled herself, smirking, already knowing that she had won this time. “Go on, answer it,” She said, nodding towards Blake’s phone. She was tempted not to look, to shove it off for a few minutes and explain to Yang that it was a pivotal part in what would become a greater purpose.

Instead she gave in and grabbed her phone. 

**Yang:** hey babe, u rdy 2 go?

“Does she take English?”

“She’s in my class.”

“Is she passing?”

“ _Ilia!_ ” 

**Blake:** yeah i’m down at ilia’s cafe, can you pick me up from here?

**Yang:** ofc i’ll b there in a few 

Ilia reached for something from the fridge, which turned out to be one of the weird healthy smoothies that Blake had previously expressed she hated. “Be nice to her,” Blake warned, pointing her finger at Ilia. The other girl snarled and slapped her hand away, pulling an offended face at her. “Isn’t she like a Vale celebrity.” Blake shook her head. “No, she just knows a lot of people.”

“So a Vale socialite.”

“Ilia, you’re actually annoying me now.”

“Right, sorry,” she cleared her throat. There was a few minutes of blissful silence, something that Blake was wholly unused to with Ilia. They both shuffled around, staring at the walls and their phones, Blake waiting for Yang and Ilia waiting for Blake to leave. If people didn’t know they were actually friends they might think they both hate each other.

“Was the sex good?”

“ _Ilia for fuck sake_ -“ the bell chimed above the door just as Blake was getting ready to yell at Ilia. “ _Yang_!” She said cheerily and Yang raised an eyebrow, Blake’s happiness seeming odd. “That happy to see me?”

“Because she doesn’t see you every other hour of the day?” Blake slapped Ilia’s arm, trying to give her some sort of eye signal to lay off. Blake watched Ilia eye up Yang, eyes trailing from the ripped jeans to the flannel shirt she wore. Yang raised an eyebrow, a little bit of confusion and possibly even nervousness seeping in. “So you’re _gay_ gay,” Ilia said, finger swirling in the air. Blake didn’t even say anything in response to that, she just buried her head in her hands.

“Last time we met you spoke like a Disney villain, so I’m gonna accept whatever this is,” Yang laughed, moving to lean over the other side of the counter. “I remember Blake telling me you were a faunus but would it be super rude if I asked what kind?” Yang winced, prepping herself for some sort of reprimanding. Ilia chuckled and shook her head and what Yang thought were freckles lit up pink as she smiled. “Chameleon, it’s pretty rare.” Yang’s eyes lit up with some sort of childish glee, utterly impressed by what she was seeing.

“That’s _so_ awesome! And you can just change colours like that?” Ilia’s skin turned a bright shade of green, her hair and freckles blue. Blake thought she was just showing off now. “ _So cool..._ ” Yang said wistfully, smiling at what she was witnessing. Ilia giggled and her skin turned back to its normal tanned shade, her hair going back to brown. “Where are you guys going anyway?” Ilia asked, looking between Blake and Yang, expecting one of them to answer.

“We’re going out for dinner with my mom, I’d invite you but... it’s a long story- maybe some other time though?” Yang asked, quickly saving herself from an explanation. “Yeah maybe, I was just wondering.”

Blake stood up, grabbing Yang’s hand as she smiled up at her. “We should go,” she said, tugging on Yang’s hand. The blonde couldn’t disagree, they were meant to meet with Raven soon. “Well, it was nice meeting you.” She smiled and Ilia nodded at her, agreeing with the statement. “I’ll see you later.” Blake waved as they walked out the door.

Ilia smiled as she watched them go, laughing at how Yang fussed over her on the motorcycle. ‘ _She’s actually alright,_ ’ she thought. 

* * *

Raven was late and Yang was getting impatient.

Her knee was bouncing under the table, fingers drumming off of the wood. Blake put her hand on her knee to try and settle her. “Why isn’t she here?” Yang growled, the question was meant for herself more than anyone else. Blake shook her head, drawing circles on Yang’s knee with her thumb. “She’ll be here, you just need to calm down.”

Her knee slowed to a still, taking a few breaths to compose herself. Breath in, hold, breath out, repeat. “I still don’t know what I’m gonna say to her,” she admitted, eyes swerving to look out of the window, trying to catch a glimpse of anyone that might be coming into the restaurant. “It’ll be fine, you’ll figure it out.”

...

“She’s not coming-“

“Yang if you want to leave we can leave,” Blake said and Yang turned to look at her. The blonde smiled and when Blake turned to look out of the window, she placed a kiss on her cheek, pulling her closer by the shoulder. “I love you,” she said and Blake smiled, let out a bubbly giggle and leaned into her. She loved how giddy Blake got about affection.

“ _Sorry! Sorry!_ ”

They both pulled away from each other as Raven slid into the booth across from them, whipping off her sunglasses, revealing deep crimson eyes. Blake was admittedly intimidated by them, which she could only say was a bad sign. Raven extended her hand across the table and Blake shook it, both of them smiling at each other. There was something false that Blake couldn’t quite place.

“What kept you?” Yang asked, leaning back into the booth. She supposed she should just get started. “Had to fire Shay, he said you punched him?”

“I did.”

“Yeah well he’s missing a tooth and if you thought he looked rough before you should see him now- doesn’t matter though, he’s replaceable.”

Yang was tempted to say something. To ask something. To question how she viewed people as replaceable, no importance whatsoever. Blake squeezed her hand under the table in an attempt to ground her. It worked and she grabbed the menu, deciding that she should wait, just a little while longer.

The waiter came and gone, replaced by Raven talking, asking them the most casual of questions. _What have they been up to? Anything at school?_ But the questions were... odd. Blake and Yang glanced at each other every now and then, both of them thinking the same thing. There was something strange about how casual she was, like she was trying to sell herself, a mere business transaction.

“This might sound a little cruel but do you get hassle for being a faunus?” Yang reacted to that more than Blake did, visibly growling. Blake kept her composure and grabbed Yang’s hand again, trying to keep her calm as well. “Not really, some people don’t care.”

“Yeah, a lot of faunus end up working for me, it’s a convenience really. They’re cheap workers- no offence.”

“And what do you even work as mom?” Yang snapped, seeing as it had come up in the conversation it wouldn’t be an odd to question would it? “Nothing exciting.” Raven grinned. As Yang opened her mouth to speak again Raven excused herself to the bathroom. Blake watched as she left and smiled politely when their eyes met.

Yang groaned, running a hand through her hair, shaking her head. “Are you okay?” Blake asked, hand moving up to hold Yang’s arm. She appreciated Blake’s constant touch, it did actually help knowing that she was here. She nodded half heartedly and said, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“When you say that but look like your about to kill someone I don’t believe it.”

“I just want this over with.”

Raven came back to the table and ranted about hand dryers in the bathroom. Yang couldn’t contribute anything to the conversation, she had too many other things she wanted to say. And Blake... really had to pee. Which was a problem because she couldn’t leave Yang alone here in case she flipped out.

But her bladder was threatening to burst.

“Uh, I’m gonna go to the bathroom?” Her voice pitched up at the end, a signal to Yang that she was asking if that was alright. The blonde nodded discreetly and she left, hoping that nothing would happen in the few minutes she would be gone.

“What _do_ you work as?” Yang asked again, figuring that maybe she just didn’t want to say in front of Blake. She shrugged her off again, like it was nothing. “I saw Shay dealing, is that what you are? A dust supplier?”

“ _Shay’s_ business is nothing to do with me- and did Qrow tell you that?”

“No, it’s just obvious. I only had to put two and two together- why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because we just met-“

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me that you decided to be a mom almost _eighteen years_ later.”

Yang was, confessedly, losing her temper. Which was a result of both frustration and... _sadness_.

Blake slid into the booth, concerned eyes jumping back and forth from Raven to Yang, trying to discern what had happened in her absence. She grabbed Yang’s hand under the table again. Yang squeezed her hand in an attempt to stop her worrying. Raven looked between Blake and Yang, then the realisation that Blake _knew everything_ , too, sunk in.

“I was separating from Tai when you were born- and I wasn’t ready for a kid, so I left,” she said, sighing heavily despite how casual the words came out, a line rehearsed over and over. “ _That’s it?_ ” Yang raised an eyebrow at her, appalled by what she was hearing. “Why’re you acting like you couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed, I was a _baby_ , and you abandoned me without a second thought.”

“You turned out fine.”

“That’s not my point! You can’t just... _appear_ and then it turns out you’re doing all sorts of shady shit!” There were people staring at them, Yang’s voice had been raised and attracted a lot of attention. Blake knew she was supposed to stop her but... maybe she needed to get it out of her system. So she let her go on. Raven shook her head. “Why the hell are you talking to me then?” 

Yang began shuffling around in the pocket of her jeans and tossed a few lien bills onto the table. “You’re right,” she said dryly, obscenely calm from a few seconds ago. “That should cover for mine and Blake’s food.” Yang shuffled out of her seat and took off, throwing the door open. Blake closed her eyes and swallowed. At least she had said what she needed to. 

“Whilst you’re here,” Raven says. “What’s your thoughts?”

“I think you missed out... because you’re daughter is a really great person.” 

“Maybe she’s like that because I didn’t raise her.”

Blake shrugged, sliding out of her seat. “We’ll never know will we,” she said and began walking for the exit, leaving Raven sitting on her own. 

Yang was stood up against her motorcycle, arms crossed and looking at the ground. Blake could only describe her as looking heartbroken, wholly dejected. “ _Hey_...” Blake said softly, walking over to the bike. The blonde didn’t look up, just slightly quirked her lips into a broken smile. “Do you...” Yang started but shook her head, “Never mind.”

“Tell me,” Blake said, taking a step closer to her. Yang’s eyes glanced up, lilac melting into pools of tears that collected on the corners of her eyes. “Do you think it was stupid to hope she would be different?” She asked, her thumb nervously twitching up and down her forearm. “Actually no, don’t answer, I’m just an idiot for wanting to know her anyway.”

Blake shook her head. “You’re _not_ an idiot,” she said and Yang looked up again, knowing she would continue on. “You’re a person with so much love to give but you’re wary about giving it to them- and rightfully so because there’s people like Raven-“ Yang chuckled “-who don’t deserve it.”

Yang inhaled and stood up straight, already beginning to return to her normal state. “Does that mean that you deserve it?” She said with a smug smile, the hurt still evident on her face. “Does it?” Blake raised an eyebrow, determined to keep this joke going as long as it cheered her up. Yang hummed and reached her hands out, gently pulling Blake closer until they were tied around her waist. 

“Guess I’ll just have to give all my love to you then,” she said and Blake smiled, wrinkling her nose in an exaggerated cringe. 

“So corny.”   


“You started it!” Yang laughed at her, choking back a sob as she did so. Blake brought her hand up, gently wiping away the tears. “Don’t cry,” she cooed and upon being told not to, Yang let a few tears spill, broken sobs slipping out with her giggles.

Blake looked past Yang for the barest second, and spotted someone staring at them from the other side of the parking lot. Her eyes widened until she realised that it wasn’t Adam, it was just a guy smoking a cigarette, his grey hair half draped over his face. She exhaled, relieved.

Yang glanced over her shoulder then back to Blake and asked, “Should I be asking if _you’re_ okay?” Blake giggled and shook her head, cupping Yang’s cheek. She leaned into her touch. “No, I’m fine...”

“Do you want to come back to my place for a bit?”

Blake nodded and Yang looked all too delighted. 

* * *

Yang’s house was always unbelievably loud. From Qrow and Tai’s normal speaking voices around the house being basically shouting to how Ruby ( _when she was around_ ) was always dashing up and downstairs. It was time’s like that when Yang was glad she didn’t share a room with Ruby anymore. 

Yang stepped through the door, Blake held close by her hand, craving the attention. Tai’s head popped out from the kitchen and his face brightened, a large grin appearing on his face. “ _Blake_! Do you want something to eat? We made fajitas.” 

“Hello, I am your biological daughter who is also here.”

“Shut up Yang, you know I’ve already got some made up for you,” he laughed and waved her off, Yang chucked also. Tai looked at Blake, eyebrows raised and still smiling, a face that said ‘well then?’ 

“Uh, yeah thanks- that sounds great sir.” 

“You can call me Tai, don’t be shy!” 

“Dad, _please_ don’t start rhyming.” 

Tai continued to rhyme words, although they weren’t really paying attention, their stomachs instead doing the talking. Despite Yang having paid for their food, they hadn’t ate. They had been too busy getting away from Raven to pass a second glance at food. They entered the kitchen and Tai handed them a plate with tiny fajitas that made Yang blush. 

“Some fajitas for two señoritas!” Blake glanced down at the plate then to Yang who was blushing and looking away. “She likes tiny food.” Tai winked and Blake laughed. She loved the stupid little things like this that made her day. They turned to leave the kitchen and Blake froze. 

She had heard of him before, passing comments about their dog, Zwei, had prepared herself in the idea that she might one day meet him. 

He barked and wagged his tail. 

Blake jumped out of her skin, letting out a small yelp. 

“You’re scared of dogs?” Tai asked, amusement laced in his tone. “Just a little.” Yang snorted and her flushed cheeks had transferred to Blake instead. Yang snapped her fingers and pointed to his bed, situated on the other side of the kitchen. The dog happily obeyed, swaying as he walked over and flopped down. “He’s a good dog,” Yang said. 

They went upstairs and Blake actually smiled when she rolled onto Yang’s bed, finding it so much more comfortable than her own. “You look like the cat who got the cream.” Yang winked and shot a finger gun at Blake. She laughed, actually enjoying that joke. “This bed is so comfy.” 

“I think your bed is more comfortable.”

“Do you only come over because you think my bed is comfy?”

“Yes,” Yang grunted as she lay down next to Blake, propping the pillows up behind her. She reached for her remote. Unlike Blake’s room, she had a small tv that sat on her drawers, the imprint of a games console, likely stolen by Ruby, just next to it. “So what’s with the mini food, not that I’m complaining this is delicious.” Blake quirked an eyebrow, munching on one of the wraps. 

“When I was a kid I always made mini versions of food because I thought they were easier to eat. And I never grew out of it.” 

“That’s very cute.” 

They continued and finished eating, mostly in silence whilst the tv blared in the background. Yang still... well, Blake didn’t know what to call it. _Hurt_ sounded like it was downplayed. Heartbroken was fitting but sounded too dramatic. She just had an unreadable expression that made Blake’s heart crumble.

Yang sat up to place the plate onto her desk and, in a moment of inspiration, Blake placed her legs at either side of her. Her arms slid around her abdomen, pulling Yang back until she was lying with the top half of her back perched up against Blake, head leaning back into her chest. “Comfy?” She asked and Yang nodded, smiling softly. Blake wondered why they hadn’t been in this position before but maybe Yang was beginning to believe in the idea of leaning on Blake when she needed to. 

The blonde sighed, content to lie here for the rest of her life if she could. Blake pushed a few strands of hair out of Yang’s eyes and there was something to achingly loving about it that Yang couldn’t resist the urge to take hold of her hand in her own, bringing it down to her lips to press a kiss onto the skin. She closed her eyes, keeping her hand where it was and her lips brushed over the soft skin, placing slow kisses onto her knuckles whenever her brain decided to.

They spent hours watching shows and Yang’s snores were more than enough evidence that she had fallen asleep. The snoring got more bearable every time Blake heard it. Although this was a different type of snore, deep breaths that rumbled at the back of her throat. Blake found it strangely adorable. She was tempted to not disturb her, to leave her in her peaceful slumber. But she didn’t think sleeping in a pair of jeans would be comfortable.

As soon as she attempted to move the snoring stopped and she realised Yang wasn’t as asleep as she once thought, that was probably why her snores were fairly quiet. She twisted around, arms wrapping around Blake and burying her face in her abdomen. “Would it be too much if I asked you to stay over tonight?” Yang mumbled, nuzzling into her.

“What about clothes?”

“Wear mine.”

Blake asked her to hold on for a moment. 

**Blake:** can i stay at Yang’s tonight?

**Kali:** what about your stuff for school?

**Blake:** i can pick up my bag in the morning

**Kali:** that’s fine then, enjoy

“I can stay but will your dad let me?”

Yang grumbled as she stood up, plodding out of the room on a mission to request Blake’s stay. She giggled at how Yang fumbled around, so moody when she was tired. She returned moments later, grinning half heartedly and flashing a thumbs up, a sign that Blake could indeed stay the night.

Yang pulled open one of her drawers, tossing one of her t-shirt’s to Blake, knowing it would be big enough to act as a nightie. As they got changed Blake was somehow hyper aware of their casual nudity, Yang literally standing topless next to her and trying to flip her shirt the right way round. She supposed that was just a normal thing you grew into.

“I’m glad you’re staying,” Yang said, picking up Blake’s clothes and folding them, placing them down on the desk. “It felt weird sleeping without you.” Yang spun, stumbled onto the bed and peeled back the covers, dragging Blake under with her. Blake settled to lying on her side with Yang slipping her arms around her, using her like a teddy bear. Blake squirmed a little when her hands slid over a particularly ticklish part before gripping down, pressing her face into her neck.

“Yang that’s my boob.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean that.” Her hand instantly slid away, finding another comfortable place to rest. The soft snores returned after a few minutes passed and her leg began to slowly trail up and down in the likeness of a cricket. Blake was happy to lie here and watch tv until she was actually tired, Yang snoozing behind her. But her head turned to the window above Yang, the blinds still partly open.

She reached up and tugged the drawstring, shuttling them tight. She didn’t want any _surprises_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Tis my friends birthday and I wanted to get the next chapter up before I disappeared into group calls.


	20. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gals go on a sudden road trip to Sumire because... well why not? 
> 
> Also there some NSFW near the end coz I’m trashy but I marked it with a * if u wanna skip.

It had been a rather quiet day, school going by quickly and Yang working on Fridays meant that Blake was alone with her parents and her texts until the next day, Yang expressing earlier that she didn’t want to turn up during the night. Her phone was buzzing rapidly, her group chat the most active it had been in a while.

  
**Coco:** I think now is the time to go down to that bar in Sumire 

**Velvet:** agreed 

**Weiss:** what is it that you have planned? 

**Coco:** to get some cool pics for my gals photography career 

**Coco:** maybe also bcoz i made a few new shirts that i want some of us to wear 

**Pyrrha:** that sounds fun, i’ll go

**Ruby:** yessssssss!!!!!!!

**Blake:** when? 

**Coco:** tomorrow and nobody pretend they have actual obligations i know no1 does 

**Weiss:** i’ll go too

She didn’t know how to reply to this. Study leave had literally just started today and apparently Coco wasted no time in thinking up plans for them. Although Blake was admittedly a little excited at the sudden plan. After all of her Adam drama and Yang’s mother issues it would be a welcome escape.

She glanced up at her parents who were comfortable were they were, Kali reading one of the books from Blake’s extensive collection and Ghira watching tv. Both of them totally unsuspecting of their daughter about to go on a road trip that will most definitely involve her being blackout drunk for god knows how long.

Her phone rang and she was answering upon seeing the letter ‘Y’.

“ _Blakey babyyyyyy!_ ”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“Yes, but I saw the group chat just now and had to call. Are we going?”

“Hold on.” Blake lolled her head to the side to lock eyes with her mom, who was already looking at her. “Can I go on a road trip to Sumire tomorrow?” Both of her parents raised an eyebrow at her, as expected they were baffled. “If Yang’s going then yes, I suppose you can-“

“Tell your mom we’re staying down there for the night.”

“Yang just said we’re staying there for the night,” Blake says, thinking that the idea of being denied the privilege of going was getting more likely by the second. Ghira didn’t bother to say anything, he was keeping out of this one. Kali sighed heavily. “Well you’ve _always_ done whatever you wanted, as long as you’re safe that’s fine.”

“Yeah, Yang we’re going.”

“Nice!” 

* * *

They all waited until Ruby and Yang finished work in the afternoon before they started getting ready to take off. Blake was still astonished at how they could just do things in the spur of the moment, it was very freeing to be honest. The icing on the cake was Coco offering to pay for everyone’s rooms at some cheap motel, Jaune had claimed it was to show off her families extravagant wealth.

Blake zipped up her backpack that was extremely light. Coco had told her that she had a dress made up for her to wear tonight, so nothing fancy needed to be packed for when they went out. She did, however, still pack a fresh set of clothes for the next day, her makeup... and lingerie. She couldn’t help it, the temptation was too much! 

“Why are you going to _Sumire_ of all places?” Ghira asked, cringing at the thought of the town. Blake giggled, “What’s wrong with Sumire?” 

“It’s... _odd_. It’s all rustic on the outskirts and then all neon on the inside.” 

“Dad you’ve just described every town and city there is.” 

“Fair point, what’s the plan for your night then?” Ghira asked and eyed her skeptically. He was right to be a little questioning when Blake was still underage, if only by a few months, and he obviously suspected that their plan involved alcohol at some point. “My friend makes her own clothing and her girlfriend is a photographer. So we got roped into modelling her clothes.” Ghira laughed and leaned over the desk, glancing out the window. 

“I think that’s your friend down there.”

“Is said ‘ _friend_ ’ Yang?”

“Well she’s there but that’s not her motorcycle.” Blake moved to look out the window and chuckled at the sight of Weiss car, the roof folded back revealing Weiss, Ruby and Yang all chatting away. Yang glanced up and waved at the window. Blake sighed and grabbed her bag, hugging her dad goodbye before she dashed off. 

“Call when you get there!”

“Okay!”

She spun out the door before he had the chance to make any further demands. If her mom had been here instead of at work she would’ve been hitting her with one hundred questions before she left. Blake threw her bag which Yang sat up straight to catch for her and grinned. Ruby and Yang whistled and whooped, slapping the sides of the car which earned a scolding from Weiss.

Blake swung her legs over the back of the car, landing half on Yang’s lap and half on the backseat of the car. “I give up...” Weiss muttered, adjusting her sunglasses. “We ready to go?” Blake asked, smiling at Weiss in the rear view mirror, she watched as Weiss half smiled back and the car started up, speeding off down the street.

“This is gonna be so awesome!” Ruby squealed and Blake watched as Yang’s face twisted into concern. “No offence Rubes but how the hell are you gonna get into this place?”

“It’s fine, Velvet said the bar’s really shady!”

“Is that something we should be excited about?”

“Yes, because it means we won’t be asked for ID.” Weiss said and that seemed to contribute enough to end the argument. Yang sighed in defeat, a tiny bit of relief sinking in. She leaned towards Blake, as far as her seat belt would allow her and her arm came to rest along the backseat. “What’s Coco making you wear?” Yang asked, smirking. Blake shrugged, “I was only told it was a dress, hopefully I’ll like it.”

“Maybe even _I’ll_ like it,” Yang purred and that made Blake giggle, trying stop her giggles for a moment as Yang leaned in to kiss her. “What are you getting made to wear?” Blake asked, leaning on the back of the seat.

“I have no clue, I was asked for your shoe size though.”

“If I’m wearing heels I’ll be the same height as you.”

“Good, my neck was starting to hurt from leaning down all the time.” They giggled again and Blake slapped her arm in fake offence. Blake thought the whole moment was fun. Driving in a car with her friends and her girlfriend, joking around. Yang had made her heart jump ship a long time ago, but when they kissed just now it felt freeing, like this was her life now and she loved it.

“Can you not do that in my car? I just had it cleaned.”

“Weiss, me and Ruby just fixed this car after you crashed it on Saturday.” 

“And _I_ have also cleaned this car for you,” Blake said. 

Weiss flicked her sunglasses down and glared at Yang in the mirror, Yang grinned cockily and Blake could only join in with her, knowing she was right. “They do have a point,” Ruby said and only then did Weiss accept defeat. Ruby glanced down to the sat nav built into Weiss’ car and raised an eyebrow. “Did you put in the address I told you?” Ruby asked, something smug in her tone.

“Yes, we did that before we went to pick up Blake.”

“You’ve got the destination set as ‘Sumire street’.”

“Is that not right?”

“No, I said the Malachite Motel,” Ruby laughed, and the couple in the backseat had to laugh as well at how spectacularly Weiss had fucked up the address. Ruby already got to work on changing the address, Weiss pulling the car over until she did so. “So, motel room to ourselves...”

“Is that the only thing you think about when we’re alone together?”

“ _S-sorry-_ “

“I was teasing, but yeah, the opportunity to do that is there.” Blake was weirdly glad that Yang was apprehensive about sex, she thought it showed how much she cared and that she didn’t want to push her into doing anything. The blonde simpered, biting her tongue as she thumbed the drawstring on the hoodie Blake was wearing, recognising that it was one of her own. “You’re making such an adorable face right now.”

“Sorry, i just really like when you wear my stuff, it’s super cute.” Blake giggled and shook her head, pecking her cheek.

“Are you both ready to go or are you gonna keep flirting?”

“You’re driving Weiss, leave whenever.” 

* * *

The drive was longer than they thought it would be, which led to Weiss getting bored of the sun and pulling the roof back over the car. Yang had asked how one can get ‘ _bored_ ’ of the sun to which Ruby explained she wasn’t, the wind was just beginning to mess up her hair.

Blake had pulled off her seatbelt and moved over so she could curl into Yang’s side, much comfier than leaning against the plastic of the door. “Weiss have you got us lost?” Yang asked whilst absentmindedly petting Blake’s hair, she quietly purred at the act. “No, we’re only a few minutes away,” Weiss scoffed.

Ruby pointed at the sat-nav and said, “I can confirm it’s down the street.”

“Finally...” the blonde murmured into Blake’s hair, making her giggle. They both locked eyes with Weiss who was watching them in the rearview mirror and laughed, she was not impressed. “If you both don’t touch each other for like five minutes will you die?”

“Yes, no doubt about it.”

“God help me.”

Weiss pulled into a large empty car park, there were some other cars that they recognised, meaning that they were the last ones to get here. Upon seeing their group (consisting of Coco, Velvet, Jaune, Pyrrha and Neptune) they immediately smiled, excitement seeping in.

The car parked and the four of them piled out, Yang immediately being saddled with all four of their bags. She had only meant to take her own and Blake’s but Ruby saw an opportunity and gave the other two backpacks to her. Coco whipped her sunglasses off and smiled at them. “Took you guys long enough.” She laughed.

“Yeah, Weiss is a shitty driver.”

“Screw you Yang!”

“Have you guys been waiting long?” Blake asked and Velvet shook her head, reaching for a set of keys that were set on the hood of the car. She tossed a set to Blake and Ruby respectively. “You and Yang are in there,” Velvet pointed to the end room on the top floor. “I wanted you both furthest away from me. I’ve heard Yang before and I don’t want to again.”

Yang scrunched her nose up and screwed her eyes shut, turning her head slightly to the side. “That’s a horrible thought, never remind me of it again.” Ruby huffed out a laugh and took her own and Weiss’ bag from Yang. She pointed inwards towards herself, “You think that’s bad? How do you think I feel when-“

“Okay, _please_ stop, this is uncomfortable,” Pyrrha spoke, holding her hands out in an attempt to end the conversation. Coco rolled her eyes, she had clearly been enjoying screwing with Yang. Blake often thought about how alike the two of them were. “Right,go dump your stuff then we’ll meet in Pyrrha’s room-“

“Why my room? I already have to share with Jaune and Neptune.”

“Which is bullshit because now I have to share a bed with Jaune.” Neptune grumbled.

Blake and Yang glanced at each other, the ongoing argument of Neptune, Pyrrha and Jaune having to share a room with the added addition of the two boys sharing a bed, going on in the background. Yang saluted them goodbye and took off up the stairs.

Their room was oddly nice for such a rundown motel. The red carpet on the floor was immaculate, along with the polished bedside tables. A glance in the bathroom told Blake that she wouldn’t need a tetanus shot by the time they were leaving... she felt a little shitty for assuming. She looked over at Yang who was screwing around with the lamp, eyebrows knitted together as she tried to turn it on over and over. “What’re you doing Yang?” She asked, eyes fixed on the cute face her girlfriend was making.

The word girlfriend still made her heart flutter slightly.

“The lamp’s broken...” She mumbled and Blake giggled airily. Blake smiled as she watched Yang pick up the lamp to inspect it, for some reason unbelievably enraptured by this object. And Blake loved every moment. However stupid or simple the thing may be, it was always somehow made endearing by Yang.

“I love you...”

Yang’s attention flipped from looking inside the lamp to smiling over at Blake, her expression soft and just... Blake couldn’t find a word for how much the look on Yang’s face made her just _feel_ , something deep inside her that coiled and then fluttered back up. Yang glanced back down at the lamp then laughed at herself. “ _Oh_ , there’s no bulb inside of it.”

Blake’s nose wrinkled up as she laughed at her. She took a few steps forward crossing the room to press a kiss to Yang’s cheek. “Okay, are you coming?” Yang put the lamp down and turned to wrap an arm around Blake’s waist. “Let’s get this show on the road baby!” She grinned and swung the door open, holding it for Blake.

It took them much longer than it should have for them to find Pyrrha’s room. And it made them feel unbelievably stupid as her room was right next door and they had walked to the other side of the motel looking for them. They had both naturally blamed everyone but themselves for not staying to listen to where Pyrrha’s room was.

“ _Soooooo_ ,” Coco sang, a happy smile on her face as she began digging through an actual suitcase full of clothes. Blake raised an eyebrow at Neptune who was already dressed in a silk crimson shirt and tight black slacks. She switched her attention back to Coco when he began looking at himself in his phone camera. Coco handed a white shirt to Jaune with a very exotic looking design on it, Jaune looked very shocked that this was what he was wearing. Then was, once again, somehow shocked at the tan pants he was handed next.

This would have bend a fairly average outfit for anyone else but Jaune had always been plain, this was a change for him.

Next, Yang was handed a white shirt with yellow stripes going vertically and another pair of black trousers. “My only request is you wear the shirt super open, you’re ripped and don’t show it enough,” Coco said and quickly went back to her distributing. Blake nodded in agreement at Yang and the blonde couldn’t think of a coherent thought not to do that now.

Blake glanced over at Jaune, who was sitting next to her, inspecting his clothing choices for the night. He had probably expected something different for him to wear, it certainly wasn’t his usual attire. “You okay?” She asked, nudging him with her elbow. “Yeah... I’m actually kind of excited.” He smiled and rubbed the fabric with his thumb. “I think it’ll suit you.”

“ _Really?!_ ” His face lit up and Blake thought he looked akin to a puppy.

“Yeah-“

“ _Blakey B, take these..._ ” Coco handed a pair of hoop earring to her, then what she assumed was a black dress, and finally, a black pair of heels. Yang stared, open mouthed, as Blake twirled the heels in her hands. Blake’s lips began to upturn, growing from a smirk to a painful grin. “Don’t tell me you-“

“Your foot fetish is showing.”

“Shut the fuck up Neptune.”

Yang stormed out of the room in a huff and Blake could only laugh, she loved her but there were some things that were just too funny. 

* * *

Hours later, Yang sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing her knee as she waited for Blake to come out of the bathroom. Their room, despite looking nice on the surface, didn’t have a light. Which was why she was so obsessed with the lamp earlier because it was hard to get dressed in the dark. 

Luckily the sun was only just starting to set, casting the room in a golden glow that lit Yang’s hair on fire. She was content to let Blake take up as much time as she needed getting dressed, they still had around twenty minutes before they had to leave. But even if Blake had to take longer, she would be patient.

She checked herself in the mirror again. She had opted not to wear a bra, which would either be a blessing or a curse, only time would tell. She had left the shirt open, only a few of the buttons were fastened at the bottom so she wouldn’t flash anyone. She hoped Blake would like the look, even if she had seen her wear something similar a few times before. 

“How do I look?” 

Yang suddenly forgot how to breathe. She didn’t know where to look. From the perfectly form fitting dress that drew an ‘x’ across her cleavage, to the bangles on her wrist- even the earrings. And there was more still! Her hair just so silky and smooth, it’s warm colour contrasting against the matte of her dress. The purple eyeliner was subtle and gorgeous. And then the heels...

“It’s bad isn’t it-“

“No, _no_ \- _definitely_ not it’s just...” Yang made a few more choked sounds trying to create another sentence to express how gorgeous she thought Blake was. Not that she wasn’t normally just even more so right now. “You look... beautiful-“ that didn’t sound right. “Not that you aren’t normally it’s just - y’know - you’re _so_ hot.” 

She was beginning to blush as she tangled but thankfully Blake giggled and cut her off by starting to walk over. Despite wearing heels, she was still shorter than Yang, which the blonde was all too happy about. She enjoyed being taller. Blake leaned forward, brushing their lips together, holding Yang’s chin between her thumb and forefinger whilst her other hand was laid flat in the space between her breasts, trailing it down to graze over her abs. 

“ _You’re so hot..._ ” Yang breathed and continued to peck at her lips, holding Blake close by digging her hands into soft flesh. Trailing from the top of her back, to the bottom, to her ass, quickly turning heated with each passing second. There were a few knocks on the door, pulling them out of their moment. Yang pulled away and glanced back at the door, yelling, “Yeah, what’s up?” Blake whined when Yang didn’t turn back to her, leaving lip gloss stained kisses over her face and neck. 

“Sis are the two of you ready? We gotta go.”

“Yeah, yeah, give us a sec.” 

She turned back to Blake, readily accepting the push of her lips against her own again. “Maybe a little more than a second...” she smirked and Blake giggled, then abruptly pulled back. “Good, now I know I can get you riled up.”

“That’s not fair.”

Blake rested her hand on the door handle and threw a look over her shoulder, winking. When she yanked the door open revealing Ruby waiting for them, Yang knew she didn’t wish to continue the conversation in front of her sister. So she settled with chastely resting a hand on Blake’s waist as they walked. Which annoyed her so much that it led Yang to think she had won whatever game they had just began to play.

* * *

The short walk to the bar was filled with Velvet trying to snag as many pictures as she could. Telling them to stand in front of random places, whilst Coco dictated the way they stood. Neptune had jokingly lifted up Jaune which ended in them getting a photo taken together. But then they got to the bar and...

Blake was _buzzing_. 

Unlike majority of the group here, it was her first time going out to a bar. She had never been to one before, not even with her parents for dinner. Strangely most restaurants in Menagerie didn’t have built in bars unless they were on the beachfront, but she assumed that was just an architectural thing. Possibly even a vacationers drinking themselves silly mainly on the beachfront thing.

Like Coco had insisted, they weren’t asked for ID. They weren’t asked going in and they weren’t asked at the bar. The fat lady with the large cigar just winked at them as she slid the tray of drinks across for Jaune to take.

Here was the problem with being a Faunus and wearing heels in a crowded space: an immediate headache thanks to the extra sensitive hearing and heels were just hard to walk in. And no amount of clinging onto Yang as Blake walked would change that fact. She was far too relieved when they sat down at a booth, off to the side of the bar.

Coco tugged Velvet into her lap, making her ears slightly flop, her camera forcibly removed from her hand and being replaced by a glass. Weiss was fixing Ruby’s hair, sweeping back her bangs and muttering something about how it was getting close to being a mullet. Pyrrha was pulling Jaune into a photo, both of them wearing cute watery smiles that Blake loved to see. And Neptune... was trying to chat up someone at the bar.

“How the hell have you finished that already?” Blake asked as Yang placed the empty beer bottle back into the table, leaning back against the cushioned wall with a smug satisfaction. “ _I was thirsty_ ,” she said lowly, revealing too much teeth as she spoke. Blake shivered and felt her throat dry up. “I think I might be too,” she whispered and reached for her own glass, the rum in the cola burned her throat.

They both glanced over at Pyrrha who had stopped to look at them, eyebrow raised in a perfect arc. “Were you listening?” Yang grinned and Blake smiled as she bit on the straw in her mouth. Pyrrha rolled her eyes, “It’s hard not to.” Blake glanced down at her drink and was astonished to find that it was half finished. “Does our talk _interest_ you?” Yang said and there was a teasing lilt to her voice that made Blake giggle. She was disgusted that she was already getting tipsy. “Should we give Jaune pointers?”

“ _Yang!_ ”

Jaune popped up from the place next to Pyrrha, smiling brightly as he held his phone up to show off his new lock screen: a picture of himself and Pyrrha. “Cute,” Blake said, sliding her now empty glass onto the table. “What about me?” Yang whimpered, giving her best doe eyed look. “ _What about you?_ ”

They both caught Jaune staring at the people dancing, mostly just swaying with their drinks and laughing, but dancing nonetheless. “You wanna dance?” Blake asked, half smirking at him as she sipped from another drink. “Yeah... want to dance with me?” Jaune grinned, already standing and squeezing out of the booth. Blake smiled and moved to stand and go with him, only for Yang to hug her waist and whine.

“Why are you going, you can’t dance.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

Jaune whooped and let Blake hold onto him to steady herself as she walked, throwing a playful wink towards Yang.

Coco laughed and clapped, applauding. “She’s fuckin’ awesome, putting you in your place.”

Yang shrugged and smiled happily. Weiss barked a laugh into her glass and pointed at Yang, “Stop with that stupid smile all the time.”

“I can’t help it, I need to smile.”

“Leave her alone,” Pyrrha said. “ _She’s in love._ ” 

Yang rolled her eyes and let them laugh at her, because they weren’t wrong. As much as she hated they were right. She watched as Blake danced with Jaune, who was having a hard time cooperating with her two left feet. Neptune had joined them but didn’t do much other than laugh.

There were continued comments being tossed at her but they just bounced off. She was busy watching Blake try to dance, which wasn’t made any easier by her footwear. Jaune still held onto her to keep her balanced and Yang was appreciative of that, even if the possessive side of her wanted to break his fingers for touching her. 

* * *

Hours passed. Maybe years. Maybe seconds. 

Yang couldn’t entirely tell, she was a little lost in the sensations. 

Velvet had insisted they get more pictures, using her phone instead this time because she was getting glares from the woman behind the bar. It had started off simple and innocent, taking pictures of everyone dancing and having fun. Which Neptune turned up a notch by pouring vodka over himself for a picture. Yang stopped participating after that and Blake had shortly after joined her by the bar. 

Which was where they were now, with Blake standing between Yang’s legs as she sat on the barstool, gingerly clutching at her waist and letting Blake do whatever she wanted. Her hand landed in the centre of Yang’s chest more than once, sometimes slightly trailing to the sides and making her smirk, growing more arrogant with the knowledge that Blake wanted her. 

Blake accidentally kissed above her top lip and opened her eyes to see what she had suddenly done wrong. They just giggled at each other and readjusted, it was natural. Yang was surprised she hadn’t done something similar yet, they were both drunk but the only difference was Yang can function.

“Can you hand me my glass,” Blake drawled and nuzzled her nose against Yang’s cheek, the blonde chuckled, a low rumble drawn from deep in her chest. She trailed down from her cheek, to her jaw, to her neck, leaving a chain of featherlight kisses. Yang picked up Blake’s glass and handed it to her, missing the contact when she pulled away to sit on the barstool next to her. She grinned and for some reason, her eyes snapped to the other side of the bar.

‘ _Oh_ ,’ she thought. ‘ _This is how Blake felt that night._ ’

Even with a beanie on, the eyepatch gave him away. His horns strained against the top of the fabric, red hair poking out of the sides despite his best efforts to hide it. Adam was here at the bar. And Yang was staring him down. Yet he didn’t seem all that intimidated.

Her eyes widened in realisation.

“Blake!” She snapped, snatching the drink out from her hand. “Babe calm down, what’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes blown wide from the shock. Yang stuttered for a moment, trying to think of an excuse, she wasn’t going to tell her he was here. Not now. It would ruin her night and that was the last thing she wanted. “Uh... why don’t I just get you a fresh drink?”

“You can get me one too.” Pyrrha said, seemingly appearing from nowhere to stand beside Blake. Yang glanced back over to the other side of the bar, only to see Adam gone, heading towards the fire exit at the other side. The blonde scrambled to pull lien out of her pocket, slapping it down in front of Blake. “Get whatever you guys want, I’ll be back in a second.”

“Yang where are you-“

She couldn’t hear the end of the question, she was already dashing off after Adam. She had it in her head that she was going to get him, that this was it, the big finale. But that might’ve been the alcohol talking instead. She opened the door as subtly as she could and was met with him twisting his head around to see if anyone was following him, then snarling when he realised she was there.

“ _Hey_!” She barked and sped up as she ran down the corridor after him. All the while hyping herself up. Maybe he was scared and that’s why he was running. That’s what she liked to believe anyway. She knew it was probably because if someone called the cops, the Vale police department would be crawling all over the place searching for him. Then he’d really be screwed.

“Come back here!”

He slammed the exit door shut behind him but Yang was quick in throwing it back open, right on his heels as she went after him. She had never seen someone jump into their car so fast. And had never ran after someone so quickly. She was so close. He was right there. All she had to do was open the door-

It was locked. _Of course_ it was locked.

“ _Open the door asshole!_ ” Yang banged her fist off of the window, yet he remained composed as he tried time and time again to start up his car. Each time the engine stalled and he had to start again. Yang continued to pull at the door handle and bang on the windows. “ _Open_ the door!” She yelled and the engine stalled again.

But his lack of... _anything_ pissed her off. He had done so many horrible things- and those were just things _she_ knew about. Stabbing Blake, stalking her- most of her problems were Blake related but still valid. And she lost her temper. Pure unadulterated anger. He started the car up successfully this time and she lost it.

“ _ **OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!**_ ”

She threw another punch and her fist shattered the window, glass clattering against the pavement and the inside of his car. She didn’t get a chance to do anything else before he was starting to drive and she had to pull her arm back. Yang groaned - felt like screaming - and inspected her hand.

The anger subsided into panic when she inspected her hand, cut in several places by the glass and her knuckles were bright red. The cuts didn’t even stop at her hand, they stretched up her wrist that had gotten caught when he began to drive. “Shit...” she muttered. Blake would freak. Everyone would. In much different ways, obviously, but they would still freak out.

Yang rolled her sleeves down, covering the cuts on her wrist but not her hand. It was fine, she could make an excuse for that... she hoped. She stood up straight, tested flexing her hand and it was fine. The blonde tried to go back inside then groaned when she realised the door could only open one way. “Why does god hate me...” she howled and began to walk around the building, pausing at the entrance when she saw her friends standing outside. Blake had her phone held tight to her ear, biting on her thumb.

Yang realised her phone was vibrating in her pocket. Then an idea came to her. A stupid idea that she was drunkenly complying with even though she knew it was stupid.

She turned around and pulled the phone out of her pocket, answering it, she tried to put on a gravelly voice. “Blake-“

“Where are you? We’re all leaving.”

“Uh, I’m outside.”

She knew the exact moment Blake realised and spotted her. How her breath caught then released. She heard the phone hang up, following by quick footsteps that stumbled every few moments. “What’re you doing outside?” Blake asked, smiling up at her, then it faded and was replaced by a frown. She began sloppily pawing at her hand. “What happened?”

“I went to the bathroom to throw up then walked out the fire exit by accident. Then when I was walking around here I fell.”

Blake’s brow furrowed, not convinced but willing to accept that answer. Yang felt awful. She hated that she was lying to her but then she tried to combat that thought by saying that technically she was just abstaining from the truth for another few hours. That was even shittier, she shouldn’t have done this. But she was in too deep.

“Hey, my hand might be a little banged up but that doesn’t mean I can’t bang you,” Yang said with a playful wink and Blake giggled. “Why am I so giddy about this?”

“You’re giddy and I’m turned on.”

Blake let out a noise that was a mix between a moan and a giggle then took her hand. Yang offered her arm for Blake to hold onto. She felt a small stream of blood down her wrist and pulled it up to check, which Blake immediately gawked at. It wasn’t a lot of blood but she still rolled her sleeve up to protect Coco’s shirt.

“Yang-“

“Blake, its just a cut. I promise it’s fine.”

Blake reluctantly didn’t ask further, just pulled a tiny cloth out of her purse to wipe off the blood. It was a shitty feeling. 

* * *

  
*

Yang’s injuries were forgotten as soon as Blake’s back hit the door, rough hands keeping her own pinned as Yang nipped at her neck. And it felt so amazing to be pushed around that she just... forgot.

She tried to move, fight back, escape. Only because it was part of the game they were playing tonight, not because she wanted to. She ended up twisted around with Yang’s breasts flush against her back. Yang’s hands found their way to her own boob, groping for her enjoyment. And Blake couldn’t complain either.

She grabbed Yang’s hands to stop her and she did so immediately. She was always ready to do as Blake asked if she went too far. Blake quickly undid the buttons on Yang’s shirt, she took the hint and threw it to the ground. Yang kissed her again, knocking her backwards.

Her legs hit the back of the bed and she lowered herself down, hands flying to Yang’s waist to drag her along. “ _Please_ take this off,” Yang whimpered and tugged at the hem of her dress. “Zip,” Blake spoke, and Yang understood. Her hand making quick work of the zip at the back of her neck, then sitting up to tug the rest of the dress down.

Yang lifted her legs up, yanking the dress off and letting it fall to a heap on the floor. She stopped to press a few kisses along her shin, to her ankle. “Were they fucking around earlier when they said you had foot fetish?”

Yang paused and the room was far too hot for this type of pause, Blake was on fire and felt the need to move. Then Blake realised the problem, _foot fetishes_ were often viewed as a weird thing. But Yang made things cute and endearing. “I don’t think it’s weird or anything.”

Yang visibly swallowed. “Yeah, sure, I do.” She turned her head to kiss Blake’s heels. “And _these_ are hot.”

“This little show is hot but can you hurry up.”

Yang feigned an offended look and tore off her heels, making sure a few kisses landed on her feet. Blake surprisingly liked that. Yang crawled back over her, predatory and making Blake move back on instinct, her legs quivering in anticipation. “We did this once and now you’re so cocky?”

“I sent you nudes so I’m pretty confident.”

“You’re in no position for giving me sass baby,” Yang sang, hands almost locking into place at each side of Blake’s head. “You’re completely at my mercy.” Blake flicked an eyebrow and bucked her hips up at her, taunting. “Then make me cry out for it.”

Blake knew she won when Yang smirked, long and sadistic. She kicked herself back onto her knees, and Blake thought this was the part where she would start grabbing at her underwear, drunk and needy. Maybe she would even just slip her hand under the waistband. Instead she skipped that stage altogether. Yang’s hands flew to the thong she was wearing, fingers dug into the fabric and tore it in half. Blake wouldn’t lie and say she didn’t enjoy the show or the way her muscles flexed and convulsed.

“Yang they were- _oh, fuck-_ “ she cut herself off with a broken moan and Yang leaned down again. “I’m sorry, too much?”

“No, you’re good- you feel good.” She bucked her hips again, trying to encourage Yang further. And it worked. It worked over and over. It took much less incentive than anything else, last time she would keep checking to make sure if it was alright, if she liked this, did she want to stop? But tonight, for whatever reason, Yang went from sweet and loving to just some primal being.

Blake loved it. Because where she thought she was about to be used for Yang’s own pleasure, turned into some act of worship. The only light in the room was filtered in from the neon lights of the motel roof, casting them in its blue glow. Yang had jerked her around in all directions, constantly on her, inside her, making her feel amazing. The best and worst part was how she kept going, until Blake didn’t know how much time had passed, because it was all filled with Yang whispering to her from down on her knees like a prayer.

Yang only finished when she decided that Blake was beyond burning lungs and sweating the alcohol back out of her, bordering on true exhaustion. Her chest heaved, lying on her back and waiting for Yang to come up next to her. The blonde got up and stretched, completely unashamed that she was walking around stark naked. Blake enjoyed the view at least.

Or at least she did until she thought Yang was standing at the window, staring, for too long. Even in her drunken haze she could tell there was something wrong. “What are you looking at?” She asked, rolling onto her side. Yang shook her head and walked back over, lifting the covers up to climb under. Although where Blake would usually curl into her, she set upright, leaning on her hand.

Blake managed to pick up Yang’s bruised hand, even with her blurry vision and the rooms dim light. She could see it was more than ‘ _just a scratch_ ’. The cut that had been bleeding earlier was only a fraction of what was injured. Another few cuts were littered across the back of her hand and her wrist. Combined with the still red knuckles that were beginning to bruise, she was genuinely concerned.

“Yang please tell me.” Yang sighed and turned her head to the side, tutting. Blake’s ears pinned back. “Don’t do that to me, just tell me what the fuck’s going on?”

“I just didn’t want to ruin your night.”

“You’re not ruining my night, I just want to know why you look like you were attacked by a cat.” Yang half smirked and sat up, shifting on her knees and reaching her arms out in an attempt to pull Blake closer to her. “I was attacked by a cat, look at all the bruises on my neck and scratches on my back.”

She attempted to lean in to kiss her, only for Blake to press on her chest, holding her back. “Just as a side note that’s actually racist.”

“Shit, sorry-“

“It’s fine, just... just tell me what happened.”

“No, I didn’t want it to be like last weekend where you got freaked out because I don’t like seeing you like that.”

A rock settled in the bottom of Yang’s stomach as she realised what Yang meant. “ _Oh my god..._ ” her eyes widened and Yang sighed gently, hands reaching out to hold her again, protective and careful. But never treating her like she was fragile. “Was he at the bar? Is that why you said to get another drink- you thought he _spiked_ my drink?”

“I-I don’t know what I thought, he-he just kept staring so I-“

“You followed him...” Blake shook her head and tapped on her chest with her finger. “So he did that?”

Yang shook her head and held her hand up, flexing her hand again like she had earlier. It started to hurt when she clenched her fist now. “No, honestly this is my fault, I lost my temper again.” She chuckled dryly. “I’m trying to work on that.”

Blake closed her eyes and sighed, Yang’s anger management could wait for now, she was far too drunk and sex addled for this. “So you followed him?” Yang nodded quickly and took Blake’s hand, swallowing. “I followed him out back and he got in his car. So then I was... y’know punching his car then the glass broke and-“ she flicked her hand around again “this happened... I didn’t want to tell you because-“

“Yang I don’t care about how my night goes, I care about you.” Blake’s hand tilted Yang’s chin up to face her and could see how the blue light lit up her eyes, something inside those eyes was endless and unbound. A fire raging just under the surface that she could feel each time they touched. “Why did you follow him like that?”

Yang pulled a face and recoiled her head, “Because I was gonna fucking kill him, why else.”

“Please, if you see him again just tell me okay? Don’t follow him-“

“Why? I can take him.”

“Because that’s how you end up _scared_ _and_ _alone_ in a field, stabbed, not knowing if your gonna bleed to death...” it was Yang’s turn to tilt Blake’s head up now, thumb tracing her jawline and treating her so sweetly. “I’m sorry... next time I have the opportunity to kick his ass I’ll kindly ask him to step outside-“

“ _Yang_.”

“Okay, yeah, that was shitty. Shouldn’t have said that- or did what I did. Shouldn’t have lied to you either, so fuckin’ stupid-“

“Let’s also work on your nervous rambling, it’s cute but I’m way too drunk for this.” Yang nodded in agreement with her and let a shaky smile slip through as she sighed again. Blake shifted forward on her knees, straddling Yang and resting their foreheads together. “I love you... so much.”

Yang smiled and kissed her, hooking her arms under her thighs and setting her back down on the bed, her body crowding Blake’s small frame and barely giving her room to breathe. She eventually relented and rolled off of Blake, groaning as she adjusted herself to lie on her side. Blake raised an eyebrow, one of her ears flicking with her and chuckling. “I think I pulled a muscle just now.”

“ _You_ pulled a muscle?”

“Yes.”

“From us having sex?”

“Yes.”

“ _How_?”

“Why is this so hard for you to believe, we were at it for like...” Yang swung to the side and reached for her trousers, pulling out her phone. “Three hours.” She chuckled in disbelief. Blake rolled her eyes, pretending that she didn’t also think that was a really long time. “You’re an athlete, your football games can take longer.”

“Yes but after those games I need to relax and curl up in bed with you.”

“I don’t think that last part is mandatory.”

“It is, there’s no other substitute for it. It heals my bones,” she said and scrunched her nose up for a moment. Blake giggled and rolled over, tossing a leg over her waist and letting Yang pull her close. “Why didn’t you tell me naked cuddles were so good?” Blake mumbled, nuzzling her face against her neck, hands lazily trailing over her back. “Wait, shit.” Blake rolled over, clutching the sheets to her chest as she searched the floor for her phone. “I said I’d send my mom that picture of us.”

She absentmindedly went to turn on the lamp, then remembered that there was no bulb inside of it.

“Can _I_ fight the lamp?” Blake asked, throwing a thumb in the direction of the lamp. Yang giggled and hugged her close, one hand reaching for her own phone. She sent the picture Blake was talking about to Kali. 

**Yang:** we had a great night

**Yang:** also the lamp in our room doesn’t have a bulb in it and we can’t find blake’s phone 

“Why do you text like a normal person to my mom?”

“ _Because_ it’s you’re mom.” She tossed her phone back down onto her trousers and they both readjusted where they lay, which has become their nightly tradition that other couples surely did before they went to sleep. “I love you.”

“I know.”

“No Blake seriously-“ she was cut off by Blake pressing a finger to her lips and curling closer. She was content to drift off to sleep now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I offer bees, tomorrow I offer my 1 week overdue modern studies homework.


	21. No Touch Policy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake tries to figure out why she has the inability to get mad at Yang, only to... get annoyed.

Blake sat up, feeling oddly fresh... and very warm. Despite both of them not wearing a strip of clothing and the covers being extremely thin, she was sweating. She sat up and winced at her headache. Her ears flicked back as she tried to move again, reaching over to Yang’s side of the bed to grab her buzzing phone. The blonde hugged her in an attempt to pull her back into bed and Blake was too feeble from her hangover to argue.

Blake grabbed the phone and answered. “Hello?” She said, voice rough and gravelly.

“Blake? Did I wake you?”

“Hi mom,” she says as she shifts herself back into her previous position of lying under Yang’s chin, relishing in how soft her skin was. “What time’s it?”

“It’s eleven thirty.”

Blake groaned and tried to bury herself deeper into Yang, just crawl inside her chest and make herself at home. Which was a morbid and horrific thought. “Why are you calling?” She asked and Yang began to slide her hand along her back, digging her fingers in to lightly massage her skin. “Oh, I just wanted to say I was going to get the picture Yang sent framed, does she want one?” Kali’s voice was far too chirpy at this time in the morning.

“Do you want a framed picture of us?” Blake asked and Yang smiled softly, eyes lighting up at the question. “Yeah... yeah I’d love that.” Blake rolled her eyes playfully and pressed her hand into Yang’s face, unable to concentrate with how stupidly cute she thought it looked. “She said yeah.”

“Alright, I’m going to get them printed today, when are you coming back?”

“We’ll be back tonight at the latest, if not then we’ve decided to buy a bulb for the lamp-“ Blake and Yang began laughing “-and are living out our lives in this motel room.”

“Okay miss sarcasm, I’ll see you both tonight.”

“Bye mom,” Blake said and flipped the phone onto the bed, turning onto her back to allow Yang to pet her hair. Yang pulled the sheets up further in an attempt to cover Blake’s now exposed cleavage, which made her laugh. “Thought you liked them.”

“I was being modest but we can take them back out-“

“No, I’m cold.” Blake spun around and reached for Yang’s phone again. Because she realised she didn’t actually know what photo Yang had sent to her mom. She checked her texts to see and... it wasn’t the right photo. Or well maybe last night when she was trying to be chaste and pristine, she thought it was the right photo. If she was honest she liked this one more.

She thought she would send the picture of the two of them smiling, sitting like normal people so she could keep up the illusion of... whatever she was trying to fool her parents about. What Yang had sent was one of the many pictures she actually liked. Blake was laughing and sitting on Yang’s knee, one arm snaked through her hair to hold her close. Yang had her face pressed into Blake’s cheek and was smiling as well. 

“Not the right one?” 

“No... well, _yes_ , but I like this one better.” 

“If I messed up you can just give me into trouble.” Blake sat up and raised an eyebrow at her, hand pressing down on her chest. Yang raised her eyebrows and tilted her chin down, awaiting an answer. “You want me to give you into trouble?” 

“Yeah, beat the shit out of me, call me stupid.” 

“Is this another one of your weird kinks?” 

“Blake.”

“ _What?_ ” She groaned and sat up, straddling Yang and scowling down at her. “Seriously what do you want me to do? Smack you, pull your hair, _call you_ _a_ _bad girl_.” Yang raised an eyebrow and half smirked, placing a hand on each side of her abdomen, hands so big they cupped her without issue. “I mean what I had in mind was you yelling at me, but...” 

“Yang I know you only did what you did for me, so I’m not gonna yell at you when it’s my fault.”

“No- _okay, no_. It’s not your fault, it’s mine, so let’s not blame you...” Her hands rose higher from abdomen and Blake grabbed them, tutting. “Fine, if you want punishment then you can’t do that, you’ll need to keep your hands to yourself.”

“But that’s torture,” she said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Blake’s abdomen, trailing up between her breasts to her collarbone. “Why don’t I make it up you like this?” Yang purred and tried to kiss her, only for Blake to move away, leaving Yang chasing her lips. “No, because you would like that and the point is you’re not supposed to.”

“Yeah but so would you, it seems like a win-win.”

Blake’s hips bucked involuntarily and she cursed herself for being so easy. Blake sighed and let their lips brush against one another. Yang smirked, under the impression she had won, until Blake pushed her back into the bed. “You can’t woo me Xiao-Long, you’re not _that_ smooth.”

“ _Oh really?_ ” She quirked an eyebrow and Blake hated that she was so charming. She leaned forward, hair creating a curtain that draped over them, leaving them both in this bubble. “You think you’re hot stuff?” Blake asked and Yang nodded, sweeping her hair out of her eyes. “Aren’t we both-“

“Are the two of you done yet?”

Both of them whipped their heads towards the door and were met with Pyrrha standing in the doorway, clutching a set of keys on her hand. “What’re you doing?!” Yang yelled, face contorted in annoyance. Pyrrha shrugged and jangled the keys. “Last night I realised I had your keys so I locked the door for you, it was traumatising.”

“ _How_ was it traumatising?”

“Because not only did I have to listen to the two of you through the wall, I had to lock your door.”

Blake sighed and wiped her face, rolling off of Yang. She couldn’t say it was a moment ruiner, if anything it had saved her from giving into Yang, _again_. Which was something that she did far too often, she understood now how some people ended up doing stupid shit in their relationships. Yang could literally talk her into anything.

“Do you guys want to go out for food before we head back?” Pyrrha asked. She tossed the keys onto their bed but remained at the doorway, probably comfortable to just stand there. The couple glanced at each other and nodded. “Sure. Are we all going?” Blake asked, swatting Yang’s hand away under the covers, making her laugh.

“Ruby and Weiss are already off somewhere. Then Coco and Velvet are just extremely hungover- Neptune might actually be dead-“

“So it’s the three of us and Jaune.” Blake smirked and Yang giggled, shifting under the covers to hold Blake, only to be batted away again. Yang cleared her throat, miffed from being denied. “It’s your fantasy double date Pyrrha!” Yang grinned and Pyrrha was not amused. She blushed and glanced outside, coming in and closing the door.

“Yang, he doesn’t like me like that.”

“Pyrrha, that’s what I said to you about Blake and here she is-“ she tried to put an arm around her shoulder but was once again denied “-not letting me touch her for some reason.”

“Blake if she’s pissing you off just hit her, she can take it.”

Blake held her hands up and waved them, ending the conversation. “We’re getting off track, when are we going?” Blake asked. Pyrrha hummed and pushed herself off of the wall. “Just come next door whenever you’re ready, Jaune and I are watching... some documentary about a singer- I don’t know the details are fuzzy.”

“ _Have fun_.”

Pyrrha flipped Yang off as she left. Yang sat up and reached for Blake again, who grabbed her wrists to stop her. “ _Okay_ , what’s going on?”

“This is your punishment, you don’t get to touch me.”

“You are _not_ serious.”

Blake flashed a smile, sharp and sadistic, then slid out from under the covers, reaching for her backpack. “I’m dead serious.” She grabbed Yang’s discarded shirt, pulling it on for the time being. Yang whined and rolled onto her back, covering her face with her hands. “Then I can’t look at you, it’s too much.”

Blake rolled her eyes and walked over to the bathroom, bag in hand. She stopped to look back. Yang was peaking through her hands then groaning again. “Blake you’re killing me.” 

“Stop complaining, you wanted to get into trouble and this is it.”

Yang continued to groan loudly. Loud, exaggerated and on purpose. Blake whipped a towel at her to get her to shut up. 

* * *

Blake folded up the clothes Coco had given them into a nice little pile. She was bringing them down to Coco and Velvet’s room whilst Yang got dressed. This meant she could avoid Yang for a few extra minutes. Trying to stop Yang from touching her and trying to stop herself from touching Yang was proving to be much more difficult than she thought it would be.

She knocked on the door once and Velvet immediately answered, one hand rubbing her rabbit ears whilst she winced at the light. “I was just bringing these back down to you guys,” Blake said and offered the pile of clothes. Velvet nodded and mumbled a thank you, taking the clothes from her. Blake glanced into the room and caught a glimpse of Coco with a hand behind her head, watching something on her phone.

Blake briefly wondered if they did the same stuff as her and Yang. Obviously she knew a ton of things about them, Velvet told her last week that Coco took her on a date to an art exhibition and they immediately got kicked out because Velvet said the art was bullshit. Then she wondered, if either of them did something- _anything_ , that warranted the other to be mad, what did they do?

Blake placed a hand on the door to stop Velvet from closing it. She raised an eyebrow. “Sorry it’s just... do you and Coco ever get angry at each other?” Blake asked awkwardly, causing Velvet to laugh. “Blake my girlfriend is _an asshole_ and I love her.” Coco finally looked over at them. Velvet pressed a finger onto Blake’s chest, “You’re girlfriend is an asshole and you love her.”

Blake giggled. She wasn’t wrong. But there was something about that statement which was oddly annoying, something she couldn’t shake. “But... _okay_ , if you guys have a fight, what do you do?”

“It’s hard to stay mad-“

“Oh thank god,” Blake said, throwing a hand to her chest, far too relieved that she wasn’t the only person who was easy for their partner. “Sorry I was beginning to think I was genuinely unable to be mad at Yang. I thought it was just me.”

“No, it’s still just you. You both have an obsession with each other.” Coco yelled from the back and Velvet pointed at her, nodding in agreement. “Why are you asking anyway?” Velvet asked and Blake puffed out a sigh. Her ears flopped slightly, miffed at how her relationship was apparently super weird. “Yang asked why I couldn’t get mad at her, which started this whole thing of me giving her into trouble-“

“If you’re gonna fight can I come and watch?” Coco asked, oddly excited about that prospect. Velvet waved her off and nodded to Blake to continue. “That was it, but my point is, I literally can’t stay mad at her.”

“Blake just enjoy it-“ Velvet threw her thumb in Coco’s direction “-we’ve been dating for almost a year now and the couple times we’ve had an argument, we just have sex. Just enjoy Yang being cheerful and clingy.”

Blake regretted the ‘no touching’ thing now, because it was so hard but she was far too stubborn to call it off. 

* * *

Yang, as she had been instructed to, didn’t touch Blake. At all. Which was hard and felt weird, especially when they were walking down the street. Walking with both hands jammed in the pockets of her jacket was certainly strange. But she had to grin, like, really hurt her cheeks smiling, when she saw Blake was having just as hard of a time as she was. 

“Are you both in a fight or something?” Jaune asked, holding the door open for them to walk inside of the restaurant. Blake shook her head, “No, what makes you say that?” 

“Because you’re usually sitting on top of Yang and Yang is usually just... you know, all over you.” Pyrrha floated her hand around in the air, gesturing towards their general direction. “Usually, I don’t know.” Yang shrugged and turned to Blake, smirking. “Maybe I did too much touching-“ she cut herself off with a laugh as Blake pushed her arm.

Then realisation hit Blake because she had, technically, touched Yang. The blonde grinned wildly and Blake face palmed. Jaune and Pyrrha could only exchange confused glances and shrug when they couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Yang leaned back in her chair, legs crossed and arm lounging along the back of both her own and Blake’s seat. It was definitely hard not to be touchy, because it was just in her nature! It was an essential part of her. A part of her that craved to hold something or someone close. But she had turned this into some sort of game for herself, to push Blake’s limits and see when she would crack.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jaune said, placing a hand on his chest and pulling a disgusted face. Pyrrha rubbed his arm in an attempt to settle him. “Please don’t throw up,” she said, smiling politely. Yang smirked and leaned further over Blake’s chair, arm sliding along the back of it. Blake twisted her lips to the side and chuckled. Yang had a feeling she was determined not to lose this one.

Blake purposely leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, otherwise she probably would’ve been tempted to lean into Yang’s side. “Jaune, you look hungover,” Blake said.

“Yes, that’s why I think I’m gonna vomit. Besides, we’re all hungover.”

“Yeah but you look _extra_ hungover.”

“Because we had to listen to the two of you through the wall and Neptune’s snoring so we haven’t slept.” 

Yang nudged Blake with her elbow. “Maybe they kept each other up.” Pyrrha rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna... go to the bathroom,” Pyrrha said then dismissed herself. Jaune also mumbled an excuse and walked off to the bathroom, blushing madly.

Yang was chuckling to herself, more than excited that her comment had made them both blush. ‘ _Isn’t into her my ass, Jaune likes her._ ’ Yang thought, all too proud of herself. She looked over at Blake, who was genuinely frowning. “What did you say that for?” Blake whispered harshly and Yang gulped.

“I was just joking.”

“You’re making it uncomfortable for them,” Blake said, an angry glower on her face. Yang smiled, trying to control the situation, said situation being Blake getting pissed off. “We both know they like each other, it might push them along... at the cost of Pyrrha’s trust in me but she’ll thank me later.”

“Yang, there’s better ways to handle that. You’re just being a dick.” Blake turned away and shook her head lightly, letting out a puff of air. Yang swallowed again, nervous, she didn’t know why she was so nervous. She reached her arm out to wrap around Blake’s shoulders, pulling her closer. It was on pure instinct that she wanted to do that, even if the weird game they had been playing meant she couldn’t. “Hey, don’t be like that.”

Blake shook off her arm and kept her gaze held steadfast away from her.

“You’re seriously mad at me for this and not for what I did last night.”

“Last night you did something dangerous and stupid for me, and I couldn’t be mad at you.”

“And this is different how?”

“Because you’re just being an asshole!” Yang recoiled her head. She knew she had asked why Blake wouldn’t get mad at her, but this seemed petty. No, this was petty. Was it petty? She wasn’t all that sure but she knew she didn’t like it. She had jinxed herself on this one. Yang raised an eyebrow and put her arm around Blake again, leaning forward to look at her. “I’m sorry, I’ll apologise when they come back.” Blake sighed gently but there was still barely a reaction.

“What’s going on Blake?” Yang asked, because whatever this was hurt her heart, it made her chest tighten and her ribs crack. “It’s nothing, I’m sorry. I guess my hangover’s just kicking in.”

“ _Blake_ -“

The chair across from them scraped back and the empty space was replaced by Pyrrha, who eyed them skeptically. “Are you guys actually in a fight?” Pyrrha asked, raising both of her eyebrows. Yang looked to Blake, tilting her head down and flashing her best puppy dog eyes. A look that pleaded for an answer and that she knew Blake couldn’t resist. The Faunus girl sighed and shook her head, smiling shakily. “No, I just don’t feel too great.” 

Before Yang got the chance to ask anything else Jaune came back, already mid-conversation with himself. “-Then I threw up in the bathroom because I saw a rat and I regret eating here,” he finished, voice unbelievably distressed. He turned to Pyrrha with a worried look, “Do you think I have food poisoning now?”

“No Jaune, we haven’t even ate yet. I just think you’re paranoid-“

Yang had zoned out of their conversation, placing all of her attention on Blake. Yang leaned forward, her own body creating a divide between their friends and Blake. “Are you sure you’re alright?” She asked quietly and something in Blake’s eyes flickered. She smiled and nodded at Yang, small but genuine. “I’m fine,” she said. “I promise.”

Yang, satisfied with that answer, sat back in her chair. She side eyed Blake and then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for saying what I said,” The blonde said awkwardly, running a hand through her hair. Jaune and Pyrrha shrugged. “It’s fine, you’re a douche like that, we’re used to it.” Jaune smiled.

Yang caught the tiny frown on Blake’s face and she had no clue why it was there. 

* * *

Hours passed and Blake was still... _off_. Yang didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t like a bad mood it was just not Blake like. It was possible that Blake was pissed off at her but she didn’t want to dwell on that thought too much. So Yang upped her usual antics, attentive cranked to the max. 

She even offered for them to stay another night if Blake wanted and they could get a cab back to Vale. Extremely expensive but would be extremely worth it if that was the issue.

But now they were leaving and Yang still didn’t know what was wrong.

Weiss stood with her elbows leaning on her car, face tucked into her palms. Ruby was no better, she was lying across the backseat of Weiss’ car with her feet up on the window. Yang and Blake stopped a few feet away from them, just taking in the sight of them being... hungover wasn’t the right word, they were basically zombies.

Blake shrugged at Yang then yawned, taking a few steps forward towards the car. “Weiss, need me to drive?” Blake asked, all smiled and smugness like she usually was. Maybe she just needed to get home, which was understandable. The novelty of this place wore off as soon as Adam showed up. Weiss moaned lowly and slid her hands down her face to her jacket pocket. “Yes, please and thank you.” Weiss handed her the car keys.

“Go die in the backseat,” Blake said, smirking. Weiss was perfectly fine with literally crawling into the backseat with Ruby, both of them creating some sort of makeshift way to lie down yet also stay safe. Yang chuckled at their antics and tossed the bags down onto the floor beside them.

Sitting in the front seat of Weiss’ car felt weird, because she was always told to sit in the backseat after the yoghurt incident. The yoghurt incident being Weiss had a yoghurt which Yang asked about, then that somehow ended up being thrown at Yang. That was now dubbed the yoghurt incident and Yang thought it was bullshit.

She glanced at Blake who had her hand on the gear, shifting it into drive and pressing her foot down on the accelerator. “I still think it’s hot when you drive,” Yang murmured, smiling over at her. Blake giggled and her nose wrinkled up, which might have been the cutest thing that she tended to do. “It’s just driving, you do it all the time.”

“Yes, and you love it.”

“That’s different, you ride a motorcycle.”

“And right now you’re driving a cool ass car, that you have never drove before, so effortlessly.” Blake smiled and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything more on it. They lapsed into silence for what felt like forever. Yang wondered what was wrong. Because this wasn’t normal driving silence, it was something is wrong silence.

Yang wiggled around under her seatbelt, uncomfortable in her own skin. Uncomfortable with the knowledge that there was something wrong with Blake. Her girlfriend had wedged her way into her heart and it was hard to not care about her like this. Care and love that bordered on obsession, a fine line that got more blurry the more she worried.

She took a breath then wriggled again. Yang had never been good with emotions. They were foreign to her, but when they spoke she understood. She was used to cutting herself off so all of this was new to her. She was aware that this was also new to Blake, they were just finding out things together. Yang didn’t know where to start, she had tried asking what was wrong, tried to up her ante. Then there was this bullshit Blake was doing where she wouldn’t let Yang touch her. Which was _awful_ because she relied on physical touch.

Yang glanced to the backseat of the car as they pulled on the highway, Weiss and Ruby were passed out. Both of them lying in a mess of tangled limbs and seatbelts, but both entirely comfortable to sleep. She looked over at Blake, “Are you seeing this?” Blake raised an eyebrow and looked in the rear view mirror, then let out a quiet laugh. “They’re actually really cute,” Blake said.

“I know... they’re good for each other.”

“Meaning?”

“Ruby makes Weiss less uptight and Weiss makes Ruby less of a spazz.”

Blake hummed and they lapsed into silence again. Yang swallowed and ran a hand through her hair. This was hard. It was hard to just talk. She glanced in the back again to make sure her sister and Weiss were really asleep. Once she was sure they were she turned back around and took another deep breath in an attempt to psyche herself up. It was awful she needed this much prep.

“What’s going on with you Blake?” She asked and Blake bit her lip. The Faunus girl shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know... you know how everyone thinks your some kind of asshole?” Blake said, doing this funny little dance on the steering wheel. Yang chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure that’s my fault though. Plus sometimes it’s just an insult. Nothing serious.”

“Yeah- I don’t know why but it bothers me.” Blake sighed heavily. Yang furrowed her brow, surely this wasn’t what was wrong. She leaned her face against the leather seat, smiling softly. “You’ve been annoyed because of that?” She asked and Blake bit her bottom lip, face reddening.

“It’s stupid, because with me you’re never like that. But then today you kind of were with Pyrrha and Jaune- I don’t know.”

“Well sometimes I am like that, less than I used to be though.” Yang started twirling her thumbs together and suddenly felt dumb. Blake glanced over at her, expecting a continuation. And there was one. It was just taking her a moment to get it out. “I’am an asshole,” Yang says, taking another breath. “But you make me want to be... _better_.”

Blake bit her tongue to stop herself from smiling, some strange delight coming across her, making her glow. “And what does that mean?” She asked and Yang smiled to herself, looking down at her hands. “It means you make me want to _really_ pass classes, and win all my football games, and be super nice. Spend all my money on you.”

Blake giggled happily, delighted at this new revelation. Yang wondered how often Blake would need affirmation and wondered if she had any more speeches left to help her out. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you that before...” Yang began to bite her nails. She loved this girl, even when she made her feel like her veins were going go burst. “You didn’t have to...” Blake said. “But I’m glad you did.”

They smiled at each other and fell into another bout of silence. This time it was pleasant and didn’t make Yang want to claw her skin off.

“Also you win. I can’t do the no touching thing anymore. You were right, it’s torture,” Blake said.

“Cool, I’m gonna kiss you as soon as we get out of this car-“

“Will the two of you shut the fuck up already!”

“Shut up Weiss.” 

* * *

Yang and Blake had to leave Weiss’ car outside of Yang’s house. Weiss and Ruby were still busy snoozing but they were safer in the driveway than anywhere else. And as promised, Yang dipped Blake down and kissed her, gaining a yell from Qrow who appeared at the window. 

Blake was far too grateful for all of Yang’s lingering touches. Ranging from kisses to gentle caresses along her arm and spine, she cherished every one of them. She was admittedly shaken from the mention of Adam. But that was fine. She was safe. Secure with her reckless girlfriend. Blake knew her mom was about ready to give Yang a medal because of last weekend. Add in her battle scars in the form of tiny cuts, she might get a trophy. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Yang asked, squeezing her hand. Blake smiled and leaned into her, thinking of laughing at how much bigger Yang’s hands were than her own. “Going to bed.” Yang laughed then pulled back when Blake shivered. “Are you cold?” 

“Yeah but my house is right there so it’s fine.” 

Yang pouted and grumbled something incoherent, but guided Blake home nonetheless. The door clicked open before Blake had a chance open it herself and Kali stood in the doorway, smiling. “No bike?” Kali asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them as they walked inside. Yang shook her head. “Blake drove us back in Weiss’ car then we walked here.” 

“It’s about to rain.” 

“Blake said she would vomit on my bike.” 

“That makes more sense,” Kali said and playfully flicked a finger off of Yang’s shoulder. Blake dumped her bag onto the stairs, kicking her shoes off so she could go lie down on the sofa. Yang followed, sitting in whatever space was available. Blake lifted her head up to make space then immediately plopped it back down into Yang’s lap. 

Kali snapped her fingers then reached down to her handbag, pulling out a small picture frame. She handed it to Yang and smiled. “Before you say anything, your one is in your room,” Kali said to Blake and she flicked her eyebrows. “How much do I owe you for this-“

“Don’t try and pull that on me. It’s a gift.” 

“See how impossible she is,” Blake said, sitting up straight. She stood up and stretched. “I want to see my one.” Kali nodded and watched Blake skip off upstairs. Blake had the look of someone who was delighted at the prospect of having a picture of the two of them in her room. Yang could see it now, house filled to the brim with picture frames, her obsession growing every day. 

The blonde ran her thumb down the side of the frame, a walnut colour that would go perfectly in her room. “Thank you for this,” Yang said, smiling at Blake’s mom. Kali smiled at her and Yang was getting used to her being some sort of mom substitute for her. “You’re welcome, and don’t try to give me money for it, because I won’t take it.” Yang chuckled and looked down at the photo again. 

She knew what it was now that made her heart flutter and her throat constrict every time she saw Blake smiling like that. This picture meant so much to her. “Are you staying tonight?” Kali asked. Yang had to contemplate that for a moment. She knew she had spare clothes left here from last weekend but she also didn’t know if she would need to go home. After all, a hungover Weiss and Ruby combined with Qrow didn’t spell anything good. “I need to text my uncle and see if he can survive without me.” 

“You’re a good kid...” Kali smiled and Yang sheepishly looked down at her hands. She cleared her throat then looked back up at Kali, waving the picture frame. “Do you like it?” 

“I love it, I want more to put in the hallway.”

Yang giggled and placed picture frame to the side. “Want to see some more?” Kali’s eyes lighting up were the only affirmation she needed. She walked over to Kali, sitting down in the armrest, already showing her pictures from the night before on her phone.

She could get used to this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This rlly do be the only thing that helps me through quarantine. Better start thinking up other fics for when I finish this. 
> 
> Also HOW did this get to almost 350 kudos wtf, thank u guys sm I’m glad to see people are enjoying my work, that’s what I’m here for after all.


	22. Qualifying Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the date of Yang’s next big football game to qualify for the semi finals. What could go wrong?

“ _GAME DAY FUCKERS, LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!_ ”

Yang banged her fist off of the locker doors, startling some of her teammates and exciting others. She was determined to get in some practice before the game that night and when she said it was time for practice, it meant everyone turned up or she started raiding lockers. Or well, she used to do that, then Blake came along and she stopped that.

To be fair, Pyrrha had said to her before to stop picking on the kids who didn’t turn up to practice, but she couldn’t help it. What the hell was the point in joining a team if you weren’t going to turn up? She walked out of the other side of the locker room, going onto the field.

Blake was sat on the bleachers, she had decided to come watch as she and Weiss had finished their chemistry exam early, so they had spare time. “I kind of like the uniform,” Blake said and Yang smirked, tossing her helmet around in her hands. Yang raised an eyebrow and twisted to the side. “Is it just because my ass looks great in these leggings?”

“The rest of you doesn’t look half bad either.”

“I’m not sure I like the Beacon blue colour though.”

“There’s still little bits of red on it,” Blake said, propping her hand out and raising her eyebrows to try and convince her. She didn’t have to, as soon as the words left her mouth Yang was convinced. The rest of her team started spilling out onto the field, Coco clamping a hand down onto Yang’s shoulder and subtly nodding over at the other side of the bleachers.

Sun and Neptune were prancing around unaimed whilst the rest of the cheerleaders did... something? Yang didn’t actually know what they did apart from doing backhand springs and making human pyramids. Nebula looked over and drew a dirty look aimed towards Blake whilst Octavia smiled and waved. Blake waved back at her.

“You gonna join the cheerleaders?” Coco asked, smirking evilly. Blake laughed and shook her head, “I don’t feel like going head to head with Nebula for no reason. I won, she lost.” Coco and Blake laughed at each other. Yang through her thumb in the direction of Blake and turned to look at Coco. “That’s my girlfriend.”

The brunette pushed her forehead and ran off towards Nora, who was harassing the younger kids with her hardcore passing drills. In other words, a football flying at fifty miles per hour straight into their chests and being told to catch it. “I’ve gotta go,” Yang said, already jogging backwards. She smiled and pointed at Blake. “And don’t be staring at my ass.”

Blake laughed airily, skin creasing as she did so. She bit her tongue to stop herself, not because she wanted to (she knew Yang would love it if she kept it up) but because Nebula, a girl she had never actually met, was staring at her.   


Watching Yang bark out orders was extremely odd. Because she was never usually this forceful or aggressive, so it was strange to see. But Blake was also proud. Yang really seemed to know what she was doing and she was actually helping her team out.

So, yeah, Blake was proud of her.

She had to drag herself out of her daydream when her phone buzzed. 

**Unknown:** how was sumire?

Her blood ran cold. Who the fuck was this? She hoped it wasn’t one of her friends screwing with her because she might actually kill them if that was the case. Was it Adam? Likely, but that made her heart pound and her blood boil, the steam hitting off of her skin and making her want to toss her phone. She glanced up at Yang who was standing tall, Nora sitting on her shoulders. Blake decided to ignore it for now, she didn’t want to deal with that.

Blake looked up to watch Weiss walking along the rows of seats, climbing over to sit next to Blake. “Chemistry exam’s over,” she said, puffing out a breath. Blake giggled and raised an eyebrow, “Because finishing early and waiting for it to officially finish was _so_ hard for you?”

“No, because I was worried Ruby would freak out. Tests have never been her thing, but she was fine.”

“I still think it’s amazing she was pushed forward by two years.”

“Yeah, well... she’s got talent,” Weiss drawled and a sad look overcame her. Blake turned until her knee lightly bumped off of Weiss’. She smiled reassuringly and raised her eyebrows at her. “You have talent,” Blake said and Weiss chuckled dryly. “No, I have skills that I was forced to hone, they are two different things.”

“Still better than not being able to do it all.”

“I guess... who are they up against tonight?” Weiss asked, quickly changing the subject. Blake place her thumb and forefinger on her chin, trying to remember what Yang had told her. She remembered Yang saying that they were definitely going to win, _blah, blah, blah_ \- Blake got sidetracked by how good Yang looked in her uniform - then, _oh_! Blake snapped her fingers and smiled. “Salem’s lot, that’s the team name.”

“Shit, really?” Weiss cringed. Blake nodded certain that she had been told correctly. Weiss groaned and dug her face into her hands. “I went on a date with the girl on the other team and no one has ever forgot about it,” Weiss explained and Blake immediately understood. She couldn’t remember the girls name or if she was even told, only that the girl offered to go down on Weiss in the cinema.

Coco and Yang appeared in front of them again, bottles of water in hand. Yang nodded, “Hey Weiss.” Weiss smiled politely.

“You excited to see Emerald in action tonight?” Coco grinned. Yang chuckled and pushed her lightly, Blake briefly thought that if the two of them were actually guys, they would be no different. “Last time I saw Emerald in action, Yang ended up with a burst lip.” Weiss flicked her eyebrows. Blake did remember watching the video of that game. The girl with the short green hair, tanned skin. She was a bitch during that game.

Blake furrowed her brow and scrunched up her nose, turning towards Weiss with a face of disgust. “Why the hell would you go on a date with her?”

“I don’t know! She seemed nice at the time!”

Yang and Coco rolled their eyes. Coco took a step forward and held her hand out, “We all thought she was nice, then she burst Yang’s lip - _smashed my favourite sunglasses_ -“ Yang placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. They were all glad she did because Coco looked as if she was going to pop a blood vessel.

“Is cinema schlick a good player?” Blake asked, and both Yang and Coco’s faces lit up. “How long have you been holding that one back?”

“Too long Weiss, _too long_.” 

* * *

Yang was idly playing with Blake’s hair, enjoying the soft feel of it before she had to deal with the roughness of the other team tackling her into the grass. She was excited. Just a few hours to go and she could get payback, just tear into the other team. 

They were relaxing in Yang’s room, which only felt homey when Blake was here. She sighed softly and trailed her hand up to Blake’s ears. They folded back slightly when she scratched at the base and flicked when she touched anywhere else. She wondered what it was like to have an extra appendage like that, wondered how it changed your senses. Senses that were completely normal for Blake and other Faunus but foreign to Yang. Was she starting to sound like a fetishist? She hoped she wasn’t. 

“Is it okay if I touch your ears? Because I can stop.” Blake giggled and lifted her free hand to her head, keeping Yang’s where it was. “I like it,” she said and sank further into Yang’s body, content to lie here and read her book. Yang shifted back slightly, legs bending upwards at either side of Blake. “Shouldn’t you be all adrenaline pumping round about now?” 

Yang giggled and shook her head, nose nuzzling into Blake’s hair. She pressed a few light kisses to her scalp. “Yes, but I’m saving it for _later_ ,” Yang says, the last part coming out just below a whisper. Blake hummed and closed over her book, turning around to face Yang. “ _For later_? I hope you mean your game and not anything else.” Yang was already adorning a smug smile and placing her hands behind her head. 

“It’s called a double entendre, you know those things with double-“

“Don’t mansplain it to me,” Blake said and lowered herself down to lean on her forearm, her other hand playing with the collar of Yang’s t-shirt. The blonde couldn’t resist, not with their faces so close, she leaned forward and nudged Blake’s face with her nose. Blake crawled a little further up the bed, pushing her hair out of the way so she could kiss her without difficulty.

“Why do you always smell so good?” Yang asked, nostrils flaring as she actually sniffed Blake. The Faunus girl smiled toothily and tilted her head to the side. “And people say _I’m_ the animal.”

“Seriously, it’s not perfume but-“ she sniffed again and pressed a kiss to her jaw. “You smell amazing. Is there anything about you that isn’t amazing?” Blake huffed out a laugh then climbed back onto her knees, playfully pressing her hand into Yang’s face. Making her laugh, too. “Should’ve saw that one coming, what are you trying to butter me up for?”

Yang half smiled, a charming dimple appearing in her left cheek. She didn’t say anything still which made Blake narrow her eyes suspiciously. “Want to go out tonight after my game?” She asked and her hands came to rest on Blake’s thighs, drawing circles with her thumbs. The raven haired girl let out a girly laugh and bit her lip. Yang figured she had succeeded in surprising here, even if wanting to go out on a date shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“What did you have in mind?” She asked shyly and began fiddling with the creases in Yang’s t-shirt, rubbing the fabric. “There’s this cool spot out in forever fall where people have picnics. I’m shitty at cooking but- what are you laughing at?” She grinned and used her elbows to lift herself up. She still couldn’t entirely lift herself up as Blake was still sat on her waist.

“I’m sorry it’s just... it’s really cute,” Blake says, as she cupped Yang’s jaw. “That sounds good though.”

“So that’s a _yes_?”

“Yes, Yang, I’d like to go on a picnic with you at eight o’ clock at night.”

“Cool... I’d like that to.”

“I guessed that, as you were the one who asked me.”

Yang bit her lip as she smiled, an airy laugh pushing through. She put an arm around Blake and pushed her back into the bed, hands sliding down her hips. “ _Don’t_! It tickles!” Blake laughed as she tried to roll away from Yang, only for the blonde to catch her again and continue to tickle her. Yang revelled in the way Blake laughed and wriggled, clearly enjoying what was going on but still having that urge to get away.

Yang stopped tickling her but her hands remained where they were. “You’re such a smartass.”

“And _you’re_ such an ass- _no, stop!_ ”

Yang continued to tickle her. 

* * *

Blake was sat next to Jaune at the end of their row. They had miraculously made it to the front of the bleachers again, she thought for sure they would have to sit up in one of the back rows. She found out that this match was a pretty big deal, despite it being the game that qualified for semi finals, this matchup between schools was supposedly insane. 

“So explain again why this is so competitive?” Blake asked, tilting her head towards Jaune. “The schools have some sort of rivalry, starting with Ozpin hating their headmaster.” Blake raised an eyebrow, a silent question of what happened. “She’s his ex wife.” Blake nodded. 

“Anyways, every time the schools go up against each other it’s chaos.” 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Blake said and laughed lightly, her hand waving to refer to everyone rioting behind them. There were two sets of bleachers, one half (where they were sitting) held everyone supporting Beacon. The other half supported the other school. But both were waving around inflatable clapping sticks, whistling and yelling at each other. She was certain she saw someone toss a bottle of beer a few minutes ago... and the match hadn’t even started yet! It was just the cheerleaders doing their... _thing_. 

“I hope it doesn’t turn out like last time.”

“Which means?”

“They get a little violent.”

Blake fully turned in her seat, unable to speak as everyone started to cheer for the teams walking out onto the field. “It’ll be fine, Yang’s got this under control.” Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently in an attempt to reassure her. “And if she doesn’t Pyrrha is certainly on top of things.” 

“Even Nora and Coco’s out there to help!” Ruby perked up from beside Jaune. Velvet let out a long sigh and widened her eyes. They took that as a ‘Coco won’t be all too helpful if anything goes wrong’. Blake turned back around to face the field, sucking on her teeth. She didn’t like this, it gave her a bad vibe. Yang smiled and saluted up to her, Blake smiled back.

A coin was flipped and they all watched as Yang cheered along with the rest of the Beacon crowd. Blake saw how she hyped them up, purposely agitating the other team. She tried to swallow a lump in her throat but wasn’t all too sure why it was there in the first place. She just had this horrible feeling that created a pit in her stomach.

The ball was tossed back to Yang and Blake ended up smiling at how gloriously she took off across the field, completely bypassing half of the opposition. Until she was eventually tackled before she could reach the end zone but it was a good run. Everyone cheered and whistled behind her, a glass bottle smashed in the distance. “She’s so cool,” Ruby said wistfully, a bubbly smile on her face.

Blake thought it was sweet how much Ruby looked up to Yang. She was an only child so she didn’t know what it was like, but their case was different still. From what Blake knew, Yang had basically raised Ruby after their mom died. Tai being too stricken by grief to do much of anything. So it was possible Ruby looked up to Yang as more of a mom than a sister...

Jaune chuckled and nudged her arm. She pouted and nudged him back.

“Flirting with Jaune? Do you just have a thing for blondes?” Blake recoiled her head and pulled a surprised face, turning to the other side of her to see who she knew to be Nebula. “We are friends and that is my girlfriend over there-“ she pointed to Yang who was currently tackling someone to the ground “-and _we don’t even know each other._ ”

“No one knows you, you just turned up and-“ Blake stopped listening, it was just bitchy high school stuff that she deemed herself too mature to deal with. A narcissistic outlook, but an effective one. She looked at her phone as it buzzed. 

**Unknown:** how’s the football match?

“Are you even listening to me?”

Yang scored a touchdown in the distance gaining the cheers of everyone around her and one of the players on the opposition throwing her helmet on the ground.

There were too many things happening around Blake right now, so many things that made her insides jump up to her throat. She was going to vomit if she didn’t settle at least one of these things. She put her phone back in her pocket, ignoring that, again, for the time being. “Listen if you’ve came to bitch and moan over Yang, go away. I have other things to worry about.”

“I’m not ‘bitching and moaning’ I’m trying to figure out what’s so great about you-“

“Blake, mention the nudes she sent to Coco,” Velvet said and Blake narrowed her eyes. She raised an eyebrow and half laughed. “Why would I mention her nudes?” She threw a thumb towards Nebula who, currently, had a hand pressed into her quickly reddening face. Velvet nodded and smirked evilly, “I think she thought it was sexy but she was wearing a vampire costume when she sent nudes to Coco, we call it Count Nebula.”

Everyone had their lips pressed tightly together to try hide their laughter, but the shaking of their bodies gave them away. Nebula smacked a hand off of one of her friends who was also laughing. “How do you even know about that, Velvet?” Nebula asked. The brunette raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “It might have something to do with Coco being my girlfriend- _crazy, huh._ ” 

Blake laughed and shook her head, turning back to Nebula. “Please, just get out of here-“ she was cut off by the crowd behind her jeering again and she looked over to see Yang celebrating in the end zone. “Look, I’m missing this and Yang’s gonna want to brag later,” Blake said, bordering on a plead as her anxiety was beginning to spike.

And no wonder her anxiety was going haywire! There was an entire sea of people booing her girlfriend and throwing stuff. There was also a bitchy girl that, _again_ , she didn’t even know, who was here because she was jealous over Yang. Then to top it all off, she was sure Adam was texting her from a number she couldn’t block because the number was withheld. Blake was just one more bad thing away from an anxiety attack.

Thankfully, Nebula rolled her eyes and walked away in a bad mood. Octavia, who stood nearby, smiled apologetically then walked off with her. Blake slowly exhaled and buried her face in her hands, her ears flat against her head. That was one issue taken care of she supposed, she just needed to calm down. She tried to control her breathing, breathe in, hold it, breathe out, repeat. She tried it over and over but it wasn’t working this time.

“Uh, are you okay?” Jaune asked quietly, pressing a hand to her arm. Blake nodded and raised her head back up, “Yeah, it’s just anxiety things.” He hummed and lightly drummed his fingers, trying to figure out what to say next. “There’s this technique my mom taught me when I was little- uh, for _my_ anxiety... you list different things.” Blake turned to look at him, indulging him. “Something you, see, hear, smell, touch and know.” He listed off with his fingers and smiled.

That actually did make Blake feel a little better, so she thanked him.

She turned back to see the teams switching positions, Beacon being on the defensive now. She could see Yang staring up at her, the blonde nodding, a silent question of ‘are you alright?’ Blake smiled and nodded to show that she was fine. Yang turned back to face the other side of the field. Blake watched as minutes later Yang tackled Emerald, who had the ball for less than a few seconds. Emerald flipped her off. 

Strangely, her anxiety was drowned in the excitement of watching what was going on in front of her. She saw how people could get so lost in one of these matches. Blake was elated when they scored and wanted to slit someone’s throat when the other team succeeded in anything. Was that psychotic? It definitely was, but she didn’t care right now, she was too busy laughing at Jaune who was grinning madly at Pyrrha.

“Just don’t say anything...” he whispered. Blake rolled her eyes and folded her arms, biting her tongue as she giggled. “Your secret is safe with me... if you can even call it a secret-“

“It’s not obvious!”

“It definitely is.”

Jaune pouted and tucked himself back into the chair, everyone laughing at his childishness even if they didn’t know why he acting that way. Blake went back to watching the game and at half time she realised, this girl Emerald was the one that Yang was marking. Why did that make her feel queasy?

Half time came and gone, now it was starting to go like a blur, Beacon racking up points like it was nothing. Blake was so unbelievably relieved that nothing horrible had happened yet, but the more desperate the other team for, the more aggressive they got. Beacon switched back to defensive and Blake watched as Yang blew kisses to Emerald, exaggeratedly winking, then turning back to the bleachers and pointing at Emerald with her thumb. She was putting on a show.

“Aren’t you gonna watch the end?” Ruby asked and Weiss shrugged, too engrossed in her phone. “I knew they would win,” Weiss said and Ruby looked almost saddened by that. Velvet pushed her arm. Weiss, realising her error, shut off her phone and turned to Ruby. “Sorry, Winter messaged me and she doesn’t normally do that.” Ruby let out a long ‘oh’, she understood how important Winter was to Weiss. Like how Yang was important to her. She went back to watching the match and Weiss looked relieved she got away with that one.

“ _You’re terrible,_ ” Blake mouthed to her. Weiss tapped on her ear and mouthed, “ _I can’t hear you._ ” Velvet slapped her arm hard.

Yang looked high on adrenaline as she dashed across the field, chasing the girl with the ball. Then Blake saw Emerald running towards Yang and her heart sank. There was a loud clashing of helmets, Yang’s flying straight off of her head. She held her arm out to try and break her fall. There was no other sound, just a distinct snap that stood out to Blake. The blonde lay on the ground, not moving.

Everyone was quick to run over, crowding Yang’s body and obscuring Blake’s view of her. She stood up in an attempt to get a better look but had no luck.

“ _WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!_ ” Coco yelled, helmet thrown down and bouncing off of the grass as she walked over to Emerald. Blake’s heart was racing as she began to panic. “Why isn’t she getting up?” She asked, her voice shaky and still staring. “She’ll be fine, things like this happen-“

“That isn’t fine!”

“Blake calm down. It’ll be fine.” Blake couldn’t see herself but she felt light, maybe she looked pale. The next few minutes felt like hours as they waited for an ambulance to come, those minutes were filled with reassurances that she would be okay, and that Blake had to calm down. How could she calm down? Everyone else would be the same if it was their girlfriend down there.

The paramedics pulled a stretcher onto the field and Jaune stood up beside her, tugging at her arm and chiding her into moving. “I can drive you to the hospital,” he said and Blake blinked a couple times, trying to take in what he just said. Blake nodded and stood up, eye’s never leaving where Yang lay upon the stretcher. “Ruby are you coming?”

“No, I’ve gotta call my dad and tell him. I’ll be there later.”

Jaune nodded and began to pull Blake into a sprint in an attempt to get to his car in time to follow the ambulance. 

* * *

Blake ran from Jaune’s car as soon as he parked outside of the hospital, sprinting straight into the A&E and right up to the desk. The nurse was obviously surprised by her sudden appearance as she put down her phone and her eyes widened. “Can I help you?” She asked and Blake’s brain went frantic. “Uh, yeah- _yes_! I need to see the girl that came in here in the ambulance.” She pointed towards a random ambulance outside and realised she wasn’t helping. 

The nurse shook her head and shrugged, “You’re going to need to be more specific than that.” 

Blake fumbled for a moment, clicking her fingers and trying to articulate what she had lined up to say. “Her name’s Yang Xiao-Long, tall, blonde, wearing a football uniform.” She did all of the actions to go along with the words just in case the nurse couldn’t understand her from the panic in her voice. The nurse nodded and said, “She was checked in a few minutes ago.” 

There was a pause until Blake realised that was the end of her sentence. She placed her face into her hands, fingers tangling in her bangs in frustration. This nurse was useless. “One of my sisters is a nurse,” Jaune spoke up from beside her. Blake’s head snapped towards him. “Does she work here?” 

“No, she works in Mistral.” 

Blake had to purse her lips to stop herself from saying whatever comment that was about to leave her mouth. She turned back to the nurse at the desk. “Can you tell me anything about what’s going on, anything at all?” She pleaded and the nurse shrugged so nonchalantly that it pissed her off. “No, she’s being taken for examination. You can’t see her right now.”

“Of course I can’t see her, I can’t see through _fucking_ walls!-“

“Miss, please lower your voice.”

Blake rolled her eyes, entirely aware of how rude she was being, and walked off. Jaune was following behind her, jogging to try and catch up. “Where are you going?” He asked. “I’m going to find her, or at least someone who can tell me what’s going on.”

“This place is, like, twenty acres! Not to mention it’s like a maze!”

“Jaune, thank you for driving me, but you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” She said and continued on her walk, looking through every door and window for a glimpse of Yang. Jaune didn’t leave, he continued to walk with her. She knew she should slow down, go back and just wait to be told. But her heart couldn’t take it, she had to know what was going on or else she might end up in here too. 

She spotted the bright blue uniform on the stretcher before anything else. Yang lay with her eyes closed, completely passed out. Blake began to run without any indication but the doctor pushing her stretcher continued on his merry way.

“Blake this is insane!”

“How is this insane?!”

“Because we’re chasing a doctor through a hospital, this looks like something from a horror movie!”

Blake could see that Jaune was getting out of breath but she was running on pure fear of the highest concentrate. She needed to know what had happened, how serious it was, could it be fixed. It was a requirement the same way as she needed oxygen.

The doctor stopped at a door and that was Blake’s opportunity to speed up, so she did so. 

“Excuse me!” She yelled and was aware she looked like a crazy person as she barrelled towards him. “Please, you have to tell me where you’re taking her- what happened?” Blake asked. She realised she was out of breath, as was Jaune, who was doubled over behind her. The doctor blinked and sighed. “She’s concussed and the swelling in her right arm would indicate some sort of fracture, we need to take her to get examined before we can do anything further- please stop running around. Go sit in the waiting room.”

Jaune stood up and reached over to grab her arm. “Thank you doctor, we’ll just be, y’know, in the waiting room-“

“I gathered that son.”

Jaune cleared his throat and gently pulled Blake away. She felt a little relieved that it wasn’t anything more serious, like blunt force trauma or a snapped back. She was being dramatic in her head, she knew that, but she couldn’t help it. She hoped this was would pass quickly. 

* * *

The longer Blake waited the worse it got. Jaune had stayed to keep her company despite telling him to leave, and thanking him for doing his part. He did eventually go when Ruby turned up with Weiss, Tai and Qrow not far behind them. She filled them in on what was going on. Blake was entirely on edge, Weiss had offered her water and she almost kicked it out of her hand. She apologised for that one. 

Blake felt itchy, restless. Hating every moment, and every moment passing excruciatingly slow. She couldn’t believe this had happened- _actually_ , yes she could. Yang was taunting Emerald the whole game, always one-upping her. The school rivalry thing didn’t help either. It wasn’t Yang’s fault, though, that girl was insane. 

They waited for hours on end, and Blake’s mind began to wander in an attempt to escape her anxiety gnawing away at her. She found herself wondering about the text messages, they were definitely from Adam. Because who else could it be? She wasn’t going to answer them though, she was better than that. She let out an actual gasp when the doctor reappeared. 

“Are you all here for miss Xiao-Long?” He asked, using his clipboard to refer to everyone. They nodded. “She’s perfectly fine-“ Blake let out a shaky exhale “-but, after her x-ray she needed to go into surgery.” 

“ _And?_ ” Tai asked, motioning his hand in a circle.

“She was given a general anaesthetic and the fracture was repaired successfully, she’ll probably need a few weeks recovery time but all in all, this is common. An everyday thing for us,” He said and laughed slightly, shutting himself up when no one laughed. It wasn’t funny, Yang was right handed, exams were going on, she drove a motorcycle- she was the most touchy person on the planet. How was she going to fair with being unable to use that arm for a few weeks? 

“So can we go see her?” Qrow asked. The doctor shook his head. “She’s asleep and visiting hours are over, you’re better off coming back in the morning. Ward D, room three-eight-two,” The doctor rhymed off as he walked backwards, trying to escape them as quickly as possible. 

Blake was... _astonished_. This shouldn’t be happening, not today, not ever. They were supposed to be in forever fall right now, laughing at Yang’s shitty jokes and listening to her brag about her match. She wished she could go upstairs and crawl into bed next to her. 

“Has she got insurance or should I take a loan out?” 

“Of course she’s got insurance Qrow, what kind of a father do you take me for?!”

”Okay, I didn’t know!” 

Ruby and Weiss rolled their eyes. Weiss offered her hand out to Blake. “Let’s get you home.” Blake reluctantly accepted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never broken a bone before so bear with me as I research all of the treatment and procedures.


	23. Hospitality Starts at Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets out of the hospital and Blake decides to dote on her... far too much.

Yang’s eyes fluttered open for the second time that day. She had been taken into surgery again that morning after rolling onto her arm in her sleep. Which she knew couldn’t have been possible because she barely moved in her sleep, but she digressed. She heard a doctor call her something and she couldn’t flip them off, which she found to be unfair. So after being pumped with painkillers and sent back to her room, she fell asleep.

And was waking up to a much better sight than doctors looming over her.

Blake was slumped in a chair next to her bed, head resting on her arm, quietly snoring. She reached out to sweep some hair out of Blake’s face. Even the lightest brush of her fingers stirred Blake, eyes blinking open then widening when she realised it was Yang who had woke her. “Sorry... I didn’t mean to-“

“No, shut up, you’re awake.” Blake hurried to sit forward, almost falling off of the chair in her rush. “Whoa, where’s the fire baby? Chill.” Yang laughed, holding her hand and rubbing circles to try sooth her. It felt weird to be holding Blake with her left hand whilst the other was constrained. It was itchy actually... she let go of Blake’s hand and tried to snake a finger under her cast to scratch her arm.

“No, you’re not supposed to do that!”

“Why? It’s itchy.”

“I know but you’re not supposed to itch under it,” Blake said then yawned, her ears pinning back as she did so. Yang giggled and used her left hand to hoist herself up. “Have you slept?” Yang asked, smiling and pushing some hair out of her own face. Blake sighed and leaned on her hand, shaking her head. “I couldn’t sleep so I started looking up some stuff about broken bones and concussions.”

Yang shifted over to the side, groaning lowly when a slight pain shot through her arm. She lifted up the covers and held her arm out, bending her finger in a come here motion. “Come on, get in,” Yang said, still wiggling her finger at Blake. She pouted and twisted it to the side in a smile. She got into the bed along with Yang, leaving her legs dangling off as she still had her shoes on. Yang smiled and pulled Blake closer, arm securely around her shoulder.

“See? Everything’s fine, my arm will heal up and then we’ll get up out of this bed and carry you all the way home.”

“You’re high on painkillers aren’t you?”

“Oh, _totally_!”

Blake cuddled into her side, pressing a kiss to her cheek then pulling back with a disgusted look her on face. Yang raised an eyebrow at her. “You taste like this place,” Blake says and sits forward slightly, sliding her hand down Yang’s arm. Yang let out a tiny moan, why did that feel so good? Was it the drugs? “Do you want me to get anything?” Blake asked.

“Nah, I just want you.” Yang winked and Blake giggled, melodic and happy, then a few tears trickled down her cheek as she continued to smile. Yang tried to sit up but hurt herself in the process, forgetting that she couldn’t bend her arm. Blake squeaked and placed her hand on the cast, gently lowering it back into the pillow it was laid on.

Then Yang realised there was a pillow under her arm and that definitely wasn’t there before. She smirked and raised an eyebrow at Blake, nodding down at the pillow. She blushed and turned away. “I read that you have to keep it elevated so I got another pillow for you,” She said and Yang couldn’t contain the chuckle that escaped her. Blake’s ears pinned back and she pouted. “I was just worried.”

“Worry looks cute on you,” Yang said, gently cupping Blake’s jaw. She smiled and closed her eyes, letting herself melt into Yang’s touch. “What time’s it by the way?”

Blake reached into her pocket for her phone, her ears flickering at something on the screen. “Quarter to one, you’re dad should be here soon,” Blake said, smiling softly. “Something up?” She asked and Blake quickly put her phone back into her pocket, shaking her head. “So what did they do to your arm?”

The blonde hummed and nodded, if she was going to shrug her off and worry more, Yang was in no position to argue. “They put a metal plate in there somewhere to hold it together. Uh... they said the recovery time is gonna be around six weeks and I’ve gotta stay here again tonight so they can monitor me and make sure my heart rate and shit is normal.”

“Wait, go back, _what_ about your heart rate?” Blake said, swirling her hand in a circle, her eyes blown wide. Yang chuckled and reached forward, holding Blake’s hand. “Nothing, they just want to watch it and make sure it stays normal before sending me back out,” she said and gently rubbed Blake’s shoulder, smiling softly.

Blake sighed softly and leaned forward, brushing their lips together, she cringed and pulled back again. “I’m sorry, I love you, but you really do taste like this place.” Yang perked out her bottom lip but Blake did not feel sympathetic. Yang licked her lips then cringed herself, “No you’re right, I taste like bleach and death.”

Both of their gazes fell towards the door when they heard a knock and Yang smiled. Nora grinned proudly from the doorway, sauntering in with one tooth less. She was followed by Pyrrha, Coco and Velvet- Yang guessed that Velvet had got roped into driving them here. Pyrrha had a few bruises on her jaw, and Yang could barely see Coco’s face. She had the hood on her hoodie pulled up, sunglasses on, drawstrings pulled tight to obscure her neck.

“You guys turn up before my own flesh and blood? Talk about found family,” Yang said, flashing her eyebrows at Blake. “Don’t be pissy, I spoke to your dad earlier he said he would be here in the afternoon.”

“You spoke to my dad?”

“Yeah, he gave me his number in case anything happens.”

Yang got a warm pleasant feeling about that, you know it’s serious when your parent has your girlfriend’s phone number. She shook her head and looked towards her friends, who were creating chairs for themselves. There was already three but Coco pulled Velvet onto her knee. “Did we get disqualified?” Yang asked, closing one eye and preparing for the worst. “No, Salem’s Lot got disqualified, we’re moving on up!” Nora cheered and a nurse glared at her through the door.

“They weren’t happy about it, but that’s their fault for trying to take another shot at you.” Coco shrugged, smiling toothily. She looked like a model even when she couldn’t see her face- which was a good point, why was she sitting around dressed like she was gonna rob the joint. “Coco, why are you dressed like that?” Yang asked, nodding at her.

Coco hummed and pulled her hood down, taking her sunglasses off and smirking. Yang winced and sucked in through her teeth at the black eye she just revealed. She loosened the drawstrings on her hoodie revealing more bruises. “There was a huge fight-“

“And of course she was at the centre of it,” Velvet interjected, flashed a thin lipped smile at Coco, then turned back to Blake and Yang to frown. Coco smiled softly and the way her skin creased looked painful. “A true hero of the people Adel,” Yang said and attempted to clap, only to wince in pain from her arm.

“Anyways,” Pyrrha said, sighing quickly. “Apart from us brawling with the other team again, how are you doing, Yang?”

“I have a metal plate in my arm and I’m on a shit ton of painkillers.” Yang grinned, her dimples showing and the skin around her eyes creased. Blake would agree that she looked high. Coco grinned and gasped, holding her hand out as a sign she was about to start storytelling. “Do you remember that time we tried weed?” Coco said and Yang grinned.

“Oh yeah! We had that conversation about blowjobs!” Yang said, far too enthusiastically but she didn’t care much at the moment. “You have such strange conversations, neither of you have a dick,” Nora exclaimed pointing between them. Yang shook her head and held her hand out, “We had some deep talks that night.”

“Talks about your non existent dicks were _that_ deep?”

“Talks that we cannot disclose at this time,” Coco said, drawling each word as she smacked her tongue off of her teeth. Pyrrha clicked her fingers and pulled a paper bag out from behind her back, handing it to Yang. “We also brought you food,” Pyrrha said, smiling as she handed her the bag.

“Jesus, you could have started with that. I’m starving,” Yang said, thanking her as soon as she took the bag. She struggled to open it one handed. Blake narrowed her eyes and her ears flattened against her head in genuine offence, “I asked you if you wanted anything.”

“Yes, and I said I wanted you, I didn’t lie,” She said and Blake rolled her eyes as she let out a playful giggle. Yang had never been so happy to see a box of chicken strips in her life and was for some reason fascinated by them. “Don’t you think it’s crazy, one day this little chickens running around all happy, then the next minute - _BAM_ \- it’s on fire and all crispy in a box.” 

Blake smiled softly, happy to humour Yang with whatever thought she was having right now. “Yeah... crazy, baby.” Blake sighed wistfully, completely content on listening to Yang’s stupid thoughts. She could listen to them all day. Then Yang looked up, eyes quickly flicking from Blake’s ears to her chicken strips, then a look of pure horror crossed her features. 

“Do you think someone would do this to a faunus? Or even just, like, a normal cat?”

“No, I don’t think there’s someone out there who’s putting cats into boxes and cooking them.” 

* * *

Yang’s family appeared shortly after their friends had left, and the appearance was not as graceful you might expect. Ruby walked in first, swirling a finger next to her forehead and puffing out a sigh. Yang and Blake raised an eyebrow and glanced at each other. 

“I mean how the hell did this even happen Tai?”

“It’s a broken arm, she’s not dying- and you’re one to talk, you haven’t saw her since she was born!”

Yang groaned and threw her head back, “Why the hell is my mom here?” Blake shook her head and petted her hair, tucking her head into Blake’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine, I’m here,” Blake said, pressing a kiss to her head and trying not to recoil at the hospital smell wafting from her. They winced from a particularly loud yell from Qrow in the hallway. 

“Ruby, why is the whole family here?” 

“Because you’re in hospital and they are your family.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that, why is _my_ _mother_ here?” She asked, Ruby pouted and rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually know, she turned up with Qrow and dad’s insisting that they’re conspiring to kill him.” 

“That sounds accurate, I think psychopathy is a Branwen trait,” Yang says, tucking herself further into crook of Blake’s neck. Ruby nodded a few times then pulled her legs up onto the chair she was sitting on. “By the way Blake, if they ask how long you’ve been here, just say not for long. They’re having an argument about how they should’ve been here this morning.” 

“Bless you for giving us a heads up,” Blake said, smiling softly. “Where’s Weiss?” 

“Threatening to set Jaune’s car on fire the last time I checked.” 

Blake and Yang both widened their eyes, surprised looks on their faces at how she could say that so casually. It was possible Weiss’ sporadic temperaments had an affect on Ruby psychologically and she was turning into a sociopath. Or Blake was finally hitting sleep deprived levels of insanity and her brain was creating a Netflix original in her head.

Tai was the next to swing into the room, smiling brightly. “How you doing kiddo?”

“Wondering how I’m gonna take a shower with this thing,” Yang said and waved her broken arm. Blake thought that was a good point, because if need be she would wash her... she loved Yang but that wasn’t the preferable option. Tai hummed and nodded, “I have no idea but I’ll figure it out for you.”

“Do I need to give you the lowdown _or_..?”

“Nah, the doctor told us what was going on. Can’t believe you’re in here for another night.”

Neither could Blake, she wanted her out and back home with her- god, she was acting as if they were married. Yang curled further into her side, leaning on her, needing and wanting Blake here for her. Tai smiled. Qrow and Raven burst into the room, practically fist fighting and the moment was ruined. Qrow pushed her away and pointed at Yang.

“How’s your arm!?”

“It’s fine, why are you yelling?”

“Fuck you Raven, she’s fine!” Qrow yelled and pointed at Raven. There was immense confusion that coursed through everyone in the room. Too many things going on and not enough explanation. A family full of complete chaos. Yang let out a long sigh then sat up and turned to Blake, a tiny smile on her face.

“So now that we’ve had an appearance from mother of the year, does your mom know I’m in the hospital?”

Blake and Tai exchanged glances and Yang frowned. The thought of Blake conspiring with her dad was too much for her to take. “Kali asked us all to go over for dinner and to catch up once you get out,” Tai said, smiling brightly. Yang groaned loudly and flopped to the side, looking up at Blake. “ _Surprise_?” She said, trying to sound chirpy yet apologetic.

“Blake, how could you do this to me?”

“I don’t know, it just happened.”

Yang groaned loudly. This sounded like a nightmare. 

* * *

Blake had never been so happy to know that Yang had taken a shower. That hospital smell was girlfriend repellent and everyone in that building knew that. She was convinced that the staff spread that smell around the hospital on purpose to stop people from interacting. 

Blake had been strictly instructed by her mom to, and she quotes, ‘not fuck with the food.’ But she couldn’t help it! There were many things she was worried about. Like if this was enough food to keep her dad sustained never mind six other people- and she was also extremely concerned about how awkward this would be. It would either turn into a ‘let’s embarrass our children’ or ‘let’s reminisce’ kind of dinner. 

Blake watched Kali staring at the oven, trying to will her casserole to be done. This overly large chicken casserole was her mom’s finest dish, admittedly Blake wasn’t all too keen on it or the weird herb dumplings she made along with it, but it at least looked good. She heard her dad open the door with a roar of laughter and her mom’s eyes widened. “Mom, I’m sure they won’t mind waiting a few minutes.” She giggled, folding her arms and leaning back against the doorframe. 

She glanced into the hallway, seeing Tai and Qrow step inside. She swayed her head back and forth in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Yang. “You’ve done your part of placing dishes down onto a table, you can go,” Kali said dryly, still looking at the oven. Blake hummed and didn’t need to be told twice, desperate to go see Yang. Was she desperate? Surely it wasn’t desperate if it was your girlfriend, right? 

Yang stepped into the house and stared down at the floor, head bowed. Blake knew she would have to play ‘what’s wrong with Xiao-Long’ after she got out of the hospital, because that’s how Yang’s brain was wired. A broken arm temporarily stripped Yang of a lot of things. It meant she couldn’t write, ride her motorcycle, play football, it would probably be harder to get washed too. It limited her and Blake had come to realise that Yang thrived on independency. 

So the downcast look was unsurprising, but she would still have to coax an answer out of her. 

She hadn’t gone to see Yang at the hospital today, she would have but by the time she woke up Yang was already home. Talk about desperate to escape. It was odd to see her letterman jacket, usually worn with such bravado, hanging half off and covering her broken arm. The only hint of a sling being the strap crossing her chest.

“Blake! Where’s your mom?” Tai was probably the most excited person here, happy to rekindle old friendships. “In the kitchen having a stare off with the oven.” She smiled sheepishly. Ghira grinned and began to usher Tai and Qrow into the kitchen, Yang remained standing in the hallway, lilac eyes peering up through her eyelashes to look at Blake.

Blake folded her arms and pursed her lips, watching them go into the kitchen, she waited until the door was mostly closed until she turned back around to face Yang. “How’s your arm?” She asked and Yang’s expression was unreadable for a moment. “Still broken.” She smiled thinly.

Blake raised an eyebrow. That was an unexpected reaction. Yang sighed and looked down at the ground again. Blake stepped forward and ducked down slightly, smiling at Yang despite the blonde trying to evade her. “Are you okay?” She asked, ears flicking back when she realised Yang was frowning. “I’m fine- sorry. I’m just tired. I couldn’t get to sleep in that hospital once the painkillers wore off.” Yang said, straightening herself back up to the point where she towered over Blake again.

“Yang, you can talk to me,” she said, hand coming up to cup Yang’s cheek. The blonde suckled on her bottom lip then released it, eyes flicking up to look into Blake’s. “There’s nothing to talk about,” Yang says as she leans her forehead down against Blake’s.

She allowed Yang, just for the time being, to keep her worries to herself. She wouldn’t let her keep this up though, oh no, her injury had scared the shit out of Blake and she had vowed to help her through whatever this was. Her lips brushed over Yang’s and the blonde closed her eyes, accepting the kiss and enjoying it.

Blake moaned into it and cupped her jaw, smiling softly against her lips. “You have no idea how glad I am that you have your own scent back.” Yang chuckled, her nose crinkling and Blake could feel her smile against her lips. “Yeah, it was getting pretty gross,” she said. Yang pulled back and awkwardly cleared her throat. “Ruby couldn’t come, she’s got a needy girlfriend problem.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Oh yes, us Xiao-Long-Rose gals are just really attracted to needy women.” She flicked an eyebrow and smirked. Blake giggled, at least she wasn’t entirely moping. Yang glanced over at the kitchen then awkwardly cleared her throat again. Blake furrowed her brow and tilted her head, one ear tilting as well. “Sorry, our families having dinner together is just a little weird. Like a, I feel like we’re married kind of weird- not that that’s a bad thing, that’d be awesome-“

Blake pressed a finger to her lips, effectively shushing her. “I agree it does feel a little weird, but we can eat then try slip off upstairs?” Yang hummed and nodded, a tiny smile on her face. “Only if we get to finish that movie about the maidens- I forgot the name of it.”

“We can definitely do that.”

“Okay, then I have been convinced.”

Blake smiled and gently took Yang’s hand, leading her to the kitchen. Yang was immediately horrified by the sight of Ghira actually laughing at Qrow’s story. Blake had always suspected that some part of her father was a sucker for his friends. Kali waved Blake over, telling her to take the plates filled with generous portions. She placed them down onto the table and was thankful that Yang had unintentionally been placed next to her.

Yang stared at the cutlery then at the food, trying to figure something out. Blake was confused for the briefest moment until she realised Yang might not be able to cut her food. She knew Yang had too much pride to accept her help so she held her tongue. Blake sighed and resided herself to eating her food. All of them had to listen to Qrow talk about the time Tai tricked him into wearing a skirt to class.

“-I’ll never forget about it for as long as I live. It was my freshman year at college and I was at football tryouts. Ghira walks up to me and goes, ‘man, the viagra you gave me doesn’t work on my claws.’ So-“

Blake zoned back out of the conversation and cringed, whatever they were talking about she didn’t want to know. She glanced over at Yang who was delicately breaking apart potatoes, chewing slowly. “So, are you feeling better after what happened, Yang?” Kali asked.

“Yeah, it’ll heal within a couple weeks. Nothing I can’t handle. I’m just sorry I scared Blake so much.” She smiled apologetically and Blake shrugged. She had probably overreacted in the moment. “Thanks to you, I discovered how useless nurses are,” Blake said, flicking her eyebrows at Yang to punctuate her sentence.

“Me too, I asked them for water and they brought me an orange.” Kali began laughing, the men at the other end of the table were too wrapped up in their own stories to listen to them. “Seriously, they brought me an orange. Like... water. How do you confuse the two?” Kali continued to laugh and shook her head.

Blake began to like the idea of family dinner. Her mom genuinely laughing at the stupidest thing her girlfriend had to say gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling that she loved. She watched Yang bite her lip as she tried to cut her chicken with the side of her fork. She glanced over to Kali, who was now wrapped up in texting on her phone, she looked back to Yang. “Do you want me to cut that?” She whispered.

The blonde shook her head, “It’s fine, I’ve got it.” Blake didn’t believe her, not when she switched out the fork for the knife and was still unsuccessful in slicing through the chicken. The frustration got the best of her. Yang put her knife down and leaned back, slowly getting to her feet. “Uh... I’m just gonna use the bathroom,” she said, excusing herself. Kali nodded and allowed her to go.

Blake glanced at Yang’s plate, then back at everyone else, then down the hallway. Once she knew everyone wasn’t paying attention and Yang was gone, she leaned over to grab her cutlery. Blake couldn’t help it, she was compelled to cut up her food for her, just to help. She didn’t do it in tiny pieces, Yang wasn’t a child, but cut finely enough that she could just pick it up and chew it. She heard her mom laugh at her.

She dropped the cutlery then returned to her own food, pouting at her mom. “It’s very cute how you try to help, but I think her pride will always take a hit from things like this,” Kali said quietly. Blake shrugged, she had no reply. She just really wanted to help out. Kali laughed again and lightly kicked her foot under the table. “Such a little worrywart.”

“I can’t help it.”

“She’s a big girl, let her at least try to do it on her own before you step in.”

Blake pouted and quietly continued to eat. Which she kept doing until she realised Yang had been in the bathroom for an abnormally long amount of time. Kali smirked and Blake thought that maybe her mom could read her mind. Or maybe she was just that predictable. Kali sighed and flicked her wrist, a gesture for her to go. Blake graciously accepted the offer.

She went up the stairs as slowly as possible, trying not to attract attention to herself. The bathroom door was closed over, showing that she was still inside. The raven haired girl pressed her cat ear to the door and heard the sound of fabric rustling. A curse or two being hissed. Blake gently knocked on the door. “You okay?” She asked and heard Yang sigh.

“Blake...”

She couldn’t read that tone and figured that she was definitely overstepping. It was a broken arm, she didn’t need to go to various lengths for Yang. She was fine-

“Can... can you come in here a second?”

She chose to forget everything she just thought of.

Blake went inside the bathroom, making sure to close the door behind her. Yang stood in front of the sink, head down but a very embarrassed look still evident on her face. Blake realised that Yang held her trousers up, the orange of her boxers still managing to peek through the gap in her fingers. “Can you fix these for me?” She mumbled. Blake could only begin to imagine how much Yang hated asking for this, but she was more than willing to help.

Blake hummed a short ‘mhm’ and took a step forward, reaching out to grab her trousers. Yang sighed and turned her head away as Blake fastened the buttons on her trousers and tightened her belt. “We can practice you trying to do it on your own later,” Blake said, patting Yang’s chest and smiling at her. Something looked shattered within Yang and Blake suddenly felt the urge to apologise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, this is just embarrassing.”

“What is?”

“ _This!_ ” Yang snapped and gestured towards her trousers. “I can’t button my own fucking trousers, seriously, I feel like an idiot.”

“Yang, it’s okay to need help sometimes. Like I said, we can try and get you used to doing this on your own later.” Blake gulped and gently squeezed Yang’s hand in an attempt to soothe her. The blonde bit her tongue and looked down at their hands, intertwined and comfortable, no thoughts of letting go. “Sorry... I’m sorry, I just like doing things on my own,” she said quietly, thumb dragging over Blake’s knuckles.

“I know... but you’re gonna need just a little help for a while,” Blake said in an attempt to reassure her, instead Yang continued to stare down at their hands. Blake was moderately surprised when Yang leaned forward and placed a kiss to her forehead. “Did they give you painkillers?” She asked. The question only came to mind when she glanced down at the medication cabinet under the sink. She could probably spare some painkillers if Yang didn’t have any. 

“Yeah they gave me codeine.” Yang nodded, pulling back slowly, not entirely wanting to remove herself from Blake. “You hate taking medication,” Blake said and was taken aback by her own words. She had originally meant it as a question but something in her brain told her she already knew. How odd. The blonde chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, when I was a kid I was convinced my immune system was so strong that even medication wouldn’t work on me.” 

The Faunus girl giggled then realised that they had been in the bathroom for far too long. “Want to go back downstairs?” She asked and Yang smiled. “Yeah, I’ll finish my food and keep myself on your mom’s good side,” Yang says, not willing to let go of Blake’s hand just yet, meaning Blake had to open the door for them. 

“Before you get mad, I cut up your food for you.” 

“Of course you did.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I needed the help.” 

* * *

After dinner Blake had been coerced into staying at Yang’s house. More guilt tripped than coerced, actually, because Yang flashed her best puppy dog eyes and played the broken arm card. Blake was saying yes from the start but Yang was always one to overkill. Her parents didn’t mind her leaving with Yang and her family. Which had ended up being Yang and Blake leaving early whilst the rest of their families stayed to get drunk together.

Now it was nearing midnight and with Yang’s medication taken, both of them lying in bed, they were content. Or at least, _they were_ content. Then they heard Weiss let out a girlish giggle from Ruby’s room and it had been surprisingly unnerving.

“That was so horrifying,” Yang murmured, both of them staying silent to see if they could hear anything else. Blake liked how they bonded over their mutual nosiness. “Is that what everyone else feels like when they hear us laugh?” Yang continued. Blake shook her head and shrugged. The blonde was about to say something else again but paused with her mouth agape, hearing something else.

“Did they just say something about a paddling pool?” Blake asked, giggling silently, turning into more of a display of teeth between the two of them. “Yeah I don’t know what’s going on in there,” Yang said, rolling onto her back and tugging Blake closer. She wasn’t falling for the usual ‘let’s get comfy’ movements. Blake snatched a spare pillow from the bottom of the bed and sat up to slot it under Yang’s broken arm.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, it feels comfier, right?” 

“Yeah but...” Yang trailed off as she and Blake locked eyes. She must have got the message that Blake wasn’t backing down from this. She sighed and settled herself, attempting to tug Blake closer again. “Alright, you win.” She laughed mirthlessly. Blake could tell that she was annoyed but couldn’t argue otherwise, so had to resign herself to Blake. “That’s what I thought,” she whispered and leaned down to capture Yang’s lips. The blonde practically purred into Blake’s lips and placed her hand firmly on her lower back.

Blake normally would’ve let Yang do this, which was lead Blake into doing whatever they wanted in the moment. But she knew Yang was tired. Recognised it in the way she drawled her words, yet it was well hidden behind a smile. She pulled away with a few additional pecks to her lips, rubbing the fabric around Yang’s collar as she lay down. Her head rested on Yang’s shoulder, body lying on top of her left arm. She thought about how they always ended up with Blake resting on Yang.

A slow shift from the blonde, face nuzzling into Blake’s hair, and a few minutes later she was asleep. Blake envied how she could just fall asleep like that, but couldn’t deny that it was easier to do so when they slept together. Maybe it was the same for Yang.

She found herself wide awake, hyper aware of everything. She could hear, vaguely, Ruby and Weiss’ voices from the other room. The soft purring of a car engine outside and the ding of her phone. She chose to ignore it all. Because she looked around the room and began to realise that she, herself, was everywhere in this room. The framed picture on the bedside table, her books on the desk, spare clothes that she kept here in one of the drawers. She even had her own toothbrush in the bathroom. 

Her mind wandered back to her own house, and there was the realisation that her own room was covered with _Yang_. Her spare clothes, her jackets that Blake wore, the picture on the desk, the tulips. Blake was aware that was normal, that she they had became major parts of each other’s lives now. But it was amazing how they bled into each other and blended so well, not realising that it was even happening.

Blake pulled the covers up further over Yang’s right arm, that had been exposed to the cold air. The gentle snores indicated that she was definitely asleep. ‘ _Good_ ,’ she thought.

“Fuck, I forgot about prom,” Ruby exclaimed from the other room.

Blake hoped Yang’s arm would heal before then, it would be nice to dance with her... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake confirmed bisexual, it’s a good month to be gay.


	24. What Do You Call A Sleeping Bull?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unknown caller continues to... call. It doesn’t take long for Yang to catch on.

“Where are we going?”

“Just a drive.”

“So, if it’s just a drive, can I start eating this?” Yang held up the brown paper bag filled with food from the drive-thru they had visited not too long ago. “Wait five more minutes, we’re almost there,” Blake said, taking her eyes off the road in front of her for the barest second. Yang nodded and leaned back in her seat, her stomach growling.

Blake’s dad was working from home, meaning she could steal the car. Which was good because it meant they could get away from prying parents and nosey siblings for a few hours. However, Blake had decided to go all mysterious on her today. What was supposed to be them getting food and hanging out in the car had turned into a mystery tour through Vale. Seriously, she had no clue where they were going. 

She saw the familiar red and brown leaves up ahead and immediately recognised they were going to forever fall. There was something about this forest that she loved. Probably the odd colourations of the plants, they were always nice to look at. Plus there was always an amazing autumn smell here... the wildlife annoyed her though. _Definitely_ annoying. The skin under her cast began to itch and her muscles tensed painfully in an attempt to squash it. 

“Yang, don’t scratch it.”

“ _But_ -“

“No.”

“Just a _little_?”

“No, you might hurt yourself,” Blake said dryly, giving Yang a deathly side eye. Something that Yang had come to fear, so she didn’t bother to try scratch her arm. The car scratched off of the grass below it’s wheels, coming to a halt in the dirt. Yang glanced around and... 

“Huh, I was gonna bring you here a couple weeks ago,” Yang said. She knew somewhere in the back of her head this was where they were headed, Blake had the cutest romantic streak in her, but she was still pleasantly surprised. Blake tried to bite back a bubbly smile but it still shone through. Yang and Blake both rolled their heads along the back of the headrest, Yang looked down at the bag then back to Blake.

“Open it, I’m hungry too.” Blake chuckled and Yang was all too happy to comply. She took out the burger that she knew to be hers and handed the rest of the bag to Blake. “I’m glad we can eat our cooled down food and stare at trees.”

“I... what’s with the sarcasm?” Blake raised an eyebrow. To be fair the sarcasm was bordering on snide, which, to be fair, was unwarranted. What was also unwarranted was Blake putting a straw in her drink for her, which weirdly pissed her off. “Sorry... are your exams done now?” Yang asked, quickly changing the subject. Blake raised a skeptical eyebrow but allowed the change. “Yeah, my high school career is basically over now,” Blake sighed.

“Wow... that’s true actually...” Yang exhaled and sat back in her seat, staring forward at the gorgeous scenery. Blake’s exams were over, she didn’t need to come back to Beacon, there was nothing left for her. She glanced over at Blake’s buzzing phone. Blake put it on silent and put it in her pocket. “Who’s that?” The blonde asked and Blake shook her head, a shaky sigh following her. “Weiss, she volunteered to organise prom last minute because most of the student council didn’t want to.” Yang knew that to be true, she spoke to Weiss almost everyday, but there was an odd flicker in Blake’s eyes that made her not believe that.

“I literally haven’t given a single thought to prom. Are we going?” Yang took a bite out of her burger. Blake pouted and stuck out her bottom lip. “No big promposal? I’m shocked.” Yang flicked her eyebrows and smirked as if she already had a plan, that got Blake to smile and blush. Truthfully, Yang hadn’t thought about prom at all, she knew she should’ve but... she didn’t. She would probably do something last minute, try coordinate their outfits- Weiss will definitely be breathing down her neck and choosing an outfit for her.

“Are we still going to the game tonight? Weiss is asking so she can save us seats.”

That was such a depressing thought that Yang wanted to say no and storm off to cool down. Four years. _Four years_ she had been on that team, and had never _once_ been benched for a big game. Now she was finally captain and couldn’t play the fucking semi finals, she didn’t know whether she was cursed or if it was just bad luck.

“Sure, why not, my sub better not fuck this up for the team. God- I’m gonna have to watch Coco giving out the plays.”

“Sounds like a nightmare.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic but that _is_ my nightmare,” Yang said through mouthfuls of food and pointed at herself. Blake giggled and scratched her face. “What about the party at Coco’s afterwards?” Blake asked and she reached forward to pick something off of Yang’s cast, flicking it away. Yang sighed, defeated by herself and the gentle tone of Blake’s voice. Soft spoken but not too quiet, Yang loved her voice. “We can go to both, if that’s what you want, too.” 

“Guess our night’s all planned out then,” Blake says, then her eyes widen as she remembers something, leaning over to pop open the glove compartment. She pulled out a small black capsule and twisted to the side, facing Yang with a grin on her face. “So, I realised something last night,” She said, a teasing lilt in her voice. “And that would be?” The blonde looked back and forth between the capsule in her hand and Blake’s smile.

“Shouldn’t people be signing your cast? Isn’t that the tradition?”

“Yeah... why? Want to sign it?”

“Something like that,” Blake said as she pulled down the mirror. Popping off the lid of what Yang now realised was lipstick, she started to apply it on her lips, she turned back to Yang and held her hand out. “Come here.” Yang giggled, she liked where this was going. The blonde twisted in her seat and leaned forward as far as she could, holding up her arm. Blake leaned down, pressing a kiss to Yang’s forearm, lips pushing down long enough for the lipstick to stain. She pulled back and admired her handiwork, smiling.

“I love this,” Yang said, staring down at the lipstick smeared across the fabric. She loved where it had been placed, right where she would always see it. The Faunus girl reached forward for the wipes she had stored away in the glove compartment but Yang stopped her. “Wait, hold up, I think more parts of me need signing.”

“Where?”

“Maybe right here.” she pointed to her lips. “Just a little here.” She and Blake began smiling as she pointed to her neck. “Actually, just anywhere here.” She gestured to her entire face.

“I usually don’t give out my autograph for free,” Blake says as she leans across the dashboard and places a kiss to her cheek. “But I’ll make an acceptation since you’re cute.”

“Your payment is getting to kiss me, duh.”

“You’re such a dork.”

* * *

Sitting next to Yang, at what should have been a game she was playing, felt weird. It felt really wrong. Blake was sat in between Yang and Weiss, which never proved to be a good seat, especially with the mood the two of them were in. Weiss was stressed out to the max and Yang was annoyed. Obviously because she was itching to be down there, on the field, making sure everything went smoothly. Blake could only really give her reassurances that everything would be alright. 

“Ruby, which one do you think looks nicer?” Weiss asked and passed her phone to Ruby, who looked unbelievably confused. “Aren’t these both the same?” Weiss looked absolutely devastated at that answer, she snatched her phone back and handed it to Blake. “Which is better?” 

Blake immediately saw how Ruby was confused. She swore that Weiss was showing her the same tablecloth twice, she didn’t know how to even reply without offending her. Yang leaned over to look in an attempt to help her out and Blake held her snort out a laugh. “Ruby’s right, these are the same,” Yang said, continuing to lean on Blake. Weiss was, naturally, flabbergasted. “They’re right, these are both the same colour,” Blake said, chuckling dryly and pointing at the phone. 

“ _These_ are different shades of beige.”

“A sentence that should never be spoken.”

“Yang, I know your arm’s broken and you’re moping around, licking your wounds, but I need to make a decision here,” Weiss said, all pompous and stuck up. Blake watched the annoyed twitch of Yang’s face and she prepared herself for a war. “Okay, first off, _fuck you_. Second, just choose randomly. I guarantee no one will know the difference,” Yang growled, sitting up to lean across Blake. “Also I don’t need to lick my wounds, _Blake_ does it for me-“

“Too much information, I can’t erase that from my mind now.” Weiss screwed her eyes shut and waved her hands at Yang, pushing her away. Blake also gently pushed her away, face flushed red from embarrassment. “Choose the one on the left, that’s much better,” Velvet said from over next to Ruby. Weiss grinned and turned back to Yang, a finger pointing at Velvet. “And that’s someone who knows what they’re talking about,” she bragged and Velvet half chuckled. 

“Sure, whatever keeps you happy.”

“Did you say something Velv?”

“No, just talking to myself!”

Blake and Yang giggled to themselves, watching Weiss stress out over the simplest thing was extremely amusing. She was too easy to irritate. Someone else who was easy to irritate was Yang, who was wriggling uncomfortably in her chair. Blake had no clue what it was this time, but Yang’s frown deepened when her team began to take position on the field. 

Instead of asking what was wrong, she decided to back off a little. Yang was clearly pissed off by her meddling, evident in the snapping and frowning and, overall, moodiness. But Blake could take a hint, she laid off a little. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she groaned, a small noise in the back of her throat only audible to herself. 

It was a phone call, from that same unknown number, from Adam. She put her phone on silent and slid it back into her pocket, she really couldn’t deal with this. He had been doing this for weeks, texting and calling everyday, and each time she ignored it. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of her speaking to him. Because that’s all Adam wanted, a reaction, for Blake to say or do something he could use against her. 

Nora managed to score the first touchdown and Yang looked all to relieved. Blake decided she would keep the Adam thing from her for a little while longer, she didn’t need the stress. “Yang,” Velvet called across them, the blonde snapped her attention over. “You don’t have to worry, Coco and Pyrrha went over how they were going to cope without you.” Ah, Blake knew that move. The ego stroke to get her to feel better, classic narcissism. Yang grinned and sheepishly scratched at the back of her neck. 

“Yeah, guess I should just trust them.”

“It’s Coco’s one chance of getting to be captain, she’s not gonna screw it up.” Velvet winked. Blake giggled at how she had so much confidence in her. “Can’t argue there.” Yang smirked and went back to watching the game, wincing as Pyrrha got tackled to the ground in the most painful looking of ways. 

Her left arm settled over Blake’s shoulders and Blake easily slid into her embrace, eyes closing and smiling at how nice it was to be held. Yang pressed a kiss to her temple and her ears tilted back, there was a chance Blake was addicted to her affection. “Get a room,” Ren said and Blake was unsure if he meant it literally or if he was joking. Apparently Yang was too because she glanced down at Blake to gauge her reaction. 

Ren’s minute smile seemed to hint he was joking so they went with that. 

“You’re just jealous...” Yang joked with an unsure smile and tone. Ren laughed and turned back to the game. “I can _never_ tell what he’s thinking,” Blake whispered and Yang nodded at her. “Totally, I’ve known him for years and I can’t get a read on him.” They both giggled and Blake quickly pecked the tip of Yang’s nose. 

“I know Ren was joking but seriously, get a room. Disgustingly sweet you guys.”

“You want what we have Jaune.” 

Going back to watching the game was torture. Blake tried to distract herself from her constantly vibrating phone by cuddling up to Yang, starting intently at the field and then she lapsed into helping Yang do simple stuff. She didn’t mean to, it was just such a good distraction. But when she thought about it why the fuck was she fixing the collar on Yang’s jacket?

She was beginning to think football games will be her undoing. Especially with Nebula doing her best Heathers impression, except Blake liked that musical and wasn’t all too fond of... whatever this was. “Fuck me, _why_ does she keep looking at us,” Blake mumbled, tucking her face into Yang’s arm. The blonde raised an eyebrow and looked around, trying to spot who she was talking about. “Uh... for the people who don’t know who you’re talking about, not me obviously, but could you get them up to speed?” 

“Nebula, what the hell did you do to make this girl so psycho?”

“I don’t know, guess I’m just a good lay.”

“Yang, I don’t want to think about that,” Blake whined. Velvet leaned over everyone, brows knitted and face scrunched up. “Yang, why the hell would you tell Blake you had sex with Nebula?” Velvet asked and Yang shrugged, a blush creeping up her neck. “I didn’t want to be dishonest. You’re telling me Coco didn’t tell you all the people she slept with?” 

“No, because I don’t have time for her to read me the fucking bible.” 

“Okay, that’s fair- but _how was I_ supposed to know Nebula would get all crazy?”

“She’s always been crazy! She kicked Weiss off of the cheer squad because she thought you were dating her.” Weiss pointed at Velvet and nodded in agreement, Ruby joining her in doing the same motion. Blake was amazed there was so much backstory to this. She sat up and looked at Weiss, “Ban her from prom, that can be your payback.”

Weiss smirked, raising her eyebrow in a perfect arc. “I’m not gonna do that, that’d just piss her off,” Weiss says and they both flicked their gaze back to Nebula for a moment, who was prepared with a dirty look. “But it’s your payback for kicking you off the squad-“

“You guys are about to miss Pyrrha score!”

All of them snapped to the field, this taking priority over their petty drama. Pyrrha smiled proudly as she ran into the end zone, holding the ball in the air. They stood to whistle and clap, but Yang winced in pain, momentarily forgetting she couldn’t clap her hands together. Blake ran a hand down her arm, “Did you hurt yourself?” Yang shook her head and frowned, looking down at her feet. Blake muttered an apology and resigned herself to sitting in silence. Curiosity got the best of her with the buzzing in her pocket, she pulled her phone out. 

**Unknown:** why won’t you answer? 

**Unknown:** stop ignoring me 

**Unknown:** was I just not good enough? 

“Who’s that?” Yang asked, already peering over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, they must have the wrong number or something,” she said, quickly shoving the the phone back into her jacket. Yang hummed and settled her head in the crook of Blake’s neck. That was a close call. 

* * *

Blake had came over to Yang’s house when the blonde admitted that she was about to start drinking with Ruby. Blake feared she would do something stupid, like try to climb a wall or just fall, so she came over to make sure she didn’t do those things. She also didn’t want Yang to drink because mixing painkillers with alcohol was a terrible idea.

And Yang had already started drinking so she was just going to let this run it’s course. 

The time of year meant the weather was getting better, which meant Yang couldn’t strut around in her usual getup without overheating. Especially with her cast, which she would complain about until it came off. So, with help from Ruby, she had scrambled together a last minute outfit which was weather appropriate. Denim shorts, tank top, short sleeved shirt over the top, she kind of looked like a beach bum. The belt looked through her shorts might have been on right - she wasn’t sure - but she knew Blake would fix it if it wasn’t alright. 

“Blakey! _Blaaaaaaakey_!” Yang yelled, her words slurred and slow. She drained her bottle of beer and sat it down on her desk, a broken promise to herself of cleaning it up later was already forgotten. Blake pushed the door open, hem of her t-shirt dress swaying as she walked inside with narrowed eyes. “What’s...” she trailed off when she caught sight of Yang’s belt. She instinctively moved forward to fix it, making sure it was tight enough not to let the shorts fall off but not enough to hurt. 

“Why do you look after me like this?” Yang asked. She hasn’t meant to, it just slipped out. Blake was a little taken aback. “Why wouldn’t I?” She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, bemused by what she was hearing. Yang shrugged, “Yeah but it’s a little overkill- no it’s not, I’m just a stubborn asshole.” She sighed and shook her head, Blake caught her jaw with her hand.

“I guess it’s just me returning the favour for everything you’ve done for me.” Blake smiled but Yang frowned. “I do all those things because _I_ care about _you_ , don’t feel like you owe me-“

“I don’t, I’m doing this-“ Blake tugged on her belt “-because _I_ care about _you_.”

“But you don’t need to, I’m not an invalid.”

“Oh? I didn’t know it was the new trend to leave your belt unbuckled.”

Yang chuckled and rolled her eyes, hand floating to Blake’s waist and digging into the loose fabric. She pulled Blake flush against her, resting their foreheads together. “Such a smartass all the time,” she says, nudging Blake with her nose affectionately. “You love it.” She giggled and Yang loved that sound.

“Can I stay at your place tonight? Weiss is coming back here and I really don’t want to hear anything.”

“Definitely, I wouldn’t want to hear that either.”

“I’m pretty sure she has a daddy kink, I mean with a dad like hers? I’d be surprised if she didn’t.”

“Yang, you’re not one to talk, you have a foot fetish.”

There was a beat of silence as Yang tried to process what she just said. Blake narrowed her eyebrows and pressed her hand to Yang’s collar, sighing. “I don’t think you should drink tonight, I’m pretty sure you’ve taken lean.” 

“No, lean is the syrup not the pill.” 

“I hate that you know that.”

* * *

The party was definitely not one of Coco’s finest moments. It had started fine then in her excitement of being crowned captain and getting a win for the team, she descended from slightly tipsy to absolutely wasted within around... twenty minutes? Watching it go down was definitely on Yang’s top ten worst moments. Especially the part where she downed an entire bottle of vodka. 

Blake lingered around Yang the entire night, which Yang didn’t at all mind, she loved it. No, what she did mind was the amount of times Blake’s phone had buzzed. She offered to hold onto it for her in her trouser pocket but did not anticipate how often she would get a notification. And without continuing to drink, doctors orders, she was already beginning to sober up. Sun stepped up onto the coffee table in the living room, it collapsed from the weight of him.

“Y-Y-You...” the pure rage began to boil up in Coco’s face, flushing red and her voice cracking. Luckily Velvet was there with a gentle hand to bring her back down to earth. “I don’t know how she can let that go, I would kill him,” Blake said, glaring at Sun who lay on the ground. “You’re saying if I told you not to kill him you would still do it?” Yang asked, grinning, already knowing the answer. 

“Touché.” She grinned and they both began to wander through the house, swiftly avoiding where Ruby and Weiss stood as to not scar Yang for life. “So, what’s with your phone blowing up in my pocket?” Yang asked, patting her trouser pocket to punctuate her point. Blake visibly gulped, eyes flicking around the room for inspiration, the telltale signs of Blake trying to think of an excuse. That only set off alarm bells in Yang’s head. “It’s my notifications for people I follow, just ignore it- or I could even take it back.”

“Nah, babe, don’t worry. It’s fine,” Yang said coolly, trying not to raise suspicion. She would definitely check this when she got the chance to. Pyrrha slid over from across the kitchen counter, bumping into one side of Blake and resting herself against her. They were both shrouded to see a half empty cup in her hand. “Since when do you drink?” Yang chuckled. Pyrrha groaned and pressed herself further into Blake. 

“Since I came to term with me going alone to prom.”

“We can always go as a group-“

“Blake don’t try and make me feel better,” Pyrrha says, downing her drink and sloppily tossing it aside. They heard Velvet gasp in shock somewhere. “We could go dress shopping,” Blake offered and Yang nodded in agreement. The blonde nodded and pointed at Pyrrha. “Yeah, you guys go shopping then the rest of us can colour coordinate,” Yang said, making eyes at Jaune who was extremely confused. She thought he had been listening to their conversation. He had not. “Wait, are you wearing a suit?” Blake asked, mildly surprised. 

“Yeah, is that okay?” 

“Of course, it’s just very hot,” Blake said and Yang let out a delighted hum. Pyrrha groaned loudly and flopped down onto the counter. “Watching you both is torture, you’re so cute and in love. I mean, have you guys had an argument?”

“Yes, about how Yang’s been drinking even though she’s on painkillers.”

“So she’s taking lean?”

“That’s _not_ the same thing!” Yang squawked, she questioned how they were so smart yet didn’t know anything about a fairly popular drug baffled her. She might also be too involved with how these drugs worked but to be fair her mom was a dealer so it might just run in the family. Yang yawned and Blake threw a thumb towards her, turning to face Pyrrha. “Drowsiness, one of the side effects.”

“No, I’m just tired from being awake super early.”

“Yeah, _okay_.” Pyrrha rolled her eyes and reached for another bottle on the table, Jaune watching wide eyed from the side. They were all surprised at what they were seeing. “Hey.” Yang pouted and flashed her best puppy dog eyes at Blake, ignoring the buzzing in her pocket. “If I am drowsy, I’m sure you’ll take me home, fuss over me for a little while, then cuddle me to sleep,” Yang said, smirking. She had just described their nightly routine but only Blake knew that, so it seemed cute to other people.

“You guys are fucking cute.” Pyrrha half sobbed into her cup, barely even looking at them. “Oh my god,” Nora exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen, pressing a hand to Pyrrha’s shoulder and rubbing soothingly. “Who did this to you?”

“I did this to myself Nora... please pass me that bottle.”

“No, let’s just take you somewhere more quiet,” Nora said, wrapping an arm around Pyrrha’s waist to pick her up. “Blake can you help me.” Blake quickly helped throw an arm around her shoulder, promising to be back in a moment or two as she and Nora dragged Pyrrha off into the backyard. Jaune opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to muster the words to say something. Yang shook her head pitiably at him.

The phone buzzed in her pocket again and she couldn’t fight the urge to look. She glanced back into the yard to make sure Blake was still preoccupied. When she saw Pyrrha clinging onto Blake’s arm she knew she would have enough time. She pulled the phone out, seeing the many notifications... her heart lodged in her throat. What the fuck was she looking at?

There was a long list of texts and missed phone calls from an unknown number, most of the texts being eery and downright creepy. Was this Adam? Why hadn’t she mentioned this yet? Yang punched in the passcode, her knowing this code may one day turn out to be Blake’s biggest mistake. She could easily fill up her camera roll with dumb pictures or, even worse, post things on her social media like the dork she was.

She realised she was getting off track and set her mind back to the weird text messages. 

**Unknown:** was I not good enough for you?

**Unknown:** did you just not want me?

**Unknown:** won’t you swing by ilia’s cafe some day? I want to see you

**Unknown:** just let me talk to you 

Yang wiped her face and put the phone back in her pocket. It was more weird and disturbing than she was prepared for. It wasn’t as if it was like something out of a good horror movie, it was because this was real. Not a fantasy ghost haunting the house, this was a real person, who was fucking crazy, sending creepy texts to her girlfriend. A person who had stalked them to another city, who had a warrant out for their arrest.

A person who was dangerous and she didn’t want Blake having anything to do with whatever this was.

Yang turned and began walking outside, chest tightening at the sight of Blake laughing with Nora and Ren. She felt bad that she was about to drag her away from her fun, but this was serious. It couldn’t wait. “Blake,” she called out and Blake’s ears swivelled, her head snapping over to look at her. “Yeah?” Blake half smiled, teeth gleaming. Yang fumbled for a moment, not knowing if she could go through with potentially ruining her night. Then she remembered what Blake had said to her back in Sumire.

“I need you for a second, could you...?” Yang pointed her thumb towards the house and Blake nodded, never one to turn her down. They began walking back towards the house and through the party when Blake leaned into her. “Where are we going?” She asked and Yang didn’t actually know herself, she just knew that it was upstairs in private. “Bathroom.” Blake nodded as if she understood. Yang felt bad. She opened the bathroom door, letting Blake step in first. Coco grinned at her from down the hallway and shot her a thumbs up.

The blonde closed the door behind them, taking a deep breath. Blake tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, bemused. “I looked at your phone...” she admitted and watched as Blake’s expression saddened, ears flattening against her head. “ _Oh_...” 

“I’m sorry it’s just, why didn’t you tell me?” Yang asked, the hurt in her voice prominent. “Because you’ve got enough on your plate right now, broken arm, exams, your football games...” she trailed off and both of them stared at each other for a long moment. “I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, I can handle this by myself.”

“It’s not about whether or not you can handle it by yourself,” she says, taking a step forward and brushing her hand over Blake’s cheek. “I know you can, but Blake, I _love_ you. I _really_ do. And I can’t just let you try and take care of this on your own.” Blake smiled sadly and averted her gaze, a guilty look on her face. “Broken arm or not I still care...”

“I know... I should’ve mentioned it.”

“You were just trying to look after me. Which you did... and have been doing.” She sighed, a little deflated. “I’m sorry for being snappy with you, because I have too much pride to admit when I need help.” Blake’s ears tilted up slightly at the admission, and she looked up with a bubbly smile. “And I’m sorry for not telling you about... _this_ ,” she said, hands settling on Yang’s waist, playing with her belt. The blonde gently brushed their lips together, pulling Blake into a slow kiss, sensual and burning. She released with a small pop and pulled back slightly.

“I can ask Ruby about how to block unknown numbers, she’s really good with computers and stuff.”

“Thank you, I need that.”

“Wait.” Yang held her finger in the air before she began fishing into her pocket for Blake’s phone. “We’ve gotta give the people what they want,” she said as she unlocked the phone. Blake gasped and reached out for it. “No, Yang, he wants me to reply.”  


“He’s definitely not expecting this.”

**Blake:** wot do you call a sleeping bull?

**Blake:** A BULLDOZER

“Your plan is... to send him shitty jokes?”

“Wait, I’ve got more.”

**Blake:** wot did the bull say to his son when he lft for school?

**Blake:** BISON

**Unknown:** do you think this is funny?

**Unknown:** is this just a joke to you?

**Blake:** talk about a bull seeing red

**Blake:** I honestly thought I hit a bullseye with that last 1 

They both waited for the response and when it never came Yang spun the phone in her hand and blew the tip off it, as if she was blowing smoke away from the barrel of a gun. “Works every time,” she said and Blake laughed loudly, snorting a little and trying to hide her mouth with her hand. “Did you just annoy him into leaving me alone?”

“I did indeed, also brace yourself, when I open this door it’ll most likely be Coco and Velvet making out.”

“As long as it’s not Adam, I couldn’t care less.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I go M.I.A it’s because my phone is getting fixed or has just had a breakdown.


	25. Back in Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets her cast off and decides to jump straight back into the swing of things.

Blake sat outside in the hospital waiting room, drinking in the unpleasant smells and sights. Some poor old man had been wheeled past, the smell of urine accompanied by the sad look on his face told the whole story. She was glad she wouldn’t have to be here much longer, it was only supposed to be Yang getting discharged.

She had never been all that fond of hospitals. It reminded her of death and sickness, as that _was_ its intended purpose. To tend to deathly people. It was the thought of one day, she would be in a building like this, maybe she would end up like that old man who pissed himself... if Yang ever did that she would pretend not to notice. That was where she drew the line. They had recently learned that their love for each other had limits.

Last week, Yang had tried to cook pasta for the two of them. Blake couldn’t begin to describe how terrible it was and they had agreed that Yang would never cook again.

The blonde stepped out of the doctors office, one large itchy cast less, grinning goofily. She took a few steps forward and clapped her hands together, way too happy that she could do that now. “I got the all clear,” she said and Blake let out an excited squeal, bouncing up to meet her. They both hadn’t expected her to make that noise so they giggled cutely at each other.

“Wait, wait,” Yang said, arms outstretched and circling Blake’s waist, squeezing her tightly. She moaned into her hair, far too loud and inappropriate for a hospital but Blake wasn’t bothered. She just laughed and buried her face into Yang’s collar, enjoying being held for the first time in a month. She vowed never to take advantage of this again. “Yeah, this is more like it,” Yang mumbled. Blake inhaled and pulled back, taking hold of Yang’s now freed hand. The blonde shivered.

“Wow, that is _very_ sensitive.” Yang chuckled, allowing Blake to pull her towards the exit. “At least you got the cast off, we can dance at prom. You with your smooth moves and me with my two left feet.” The Faunus girl smiled. Yang had to laugh, it was true, Blake was a terrible dancer. For someone always so graceful, her dance skills were everything but. 

They left the hospital and ended up back at Blake’s house, only to see Kali leaving for work. Yang grinned and held her hands in the air, “ _Missus B!_ ” Kali’s ears flicked as she turned to look at Yang, the earrings jingling. “Yang, you got your cast off?” The blonde nodded and wrapped the woman in a hug, lifting her up slightly from the ground. Kali let out a surprised yet delighted laugh and hugged her back. Blake was honestly confused at what she was witnessing.

“It’s good to see you back to your usual self,” Kali said, smiling as she pulled away from Yang. “Yeah, sorry, I just got really carried away with using my arm again.” Kali laughed again and shook her head, gently patting Yang’s shoulder. “Okay, I’m off to work. Have fun,” she said, hopping into the cab waiting for her on the pavement. Blake simply laughed and guided Yang inside to an oddly empty house. It was possible Yang was too used to the chaos of her own home. 

“Where’s your dad?” Yang asked, stepping into the house behind Blake. “I’ll give him a hug too.” 

“He’s at work and please do not.” 

“Are you scared I might be stronger than him?” 

“No, I’m scared you’ll think that and the two of you will get into some weird fight and I’ll have to watch it,” Blake said as she fell back onto the couch, feet kicking up onto the back of the cushions. Yang laughed and sat down next to her, hand trailing up and down Blake’s leg soothingly. The skin on her palm was so sensitive, the fabric of Blake’s jeans tickled when she ran her hand down the material. 

Blake smiled at her phone and giggled cutely, kicking Yang as a sign for her to come look. The blonde flopped onto her side, squeezing in next to her on the sofa. “Look, how cute is that?” She bit her lip to restrain the smile. Yang glanced at the screen and had to smile along with her, this was a long time coming. Her only regret is that she couldn’t witness it in person. 

Pyrrha had posted a picture of Jaune, in her front yard, with a giant sign asking her to go to prom. She supposed that Jaune had finally manned up and made a move. Yang was very proud of him. Pyrrha also looked so happy, her bright smile was broader than usual, the joyfulness exuded through the photos. She cringed at the ‘arkos’ he had written on the sign, surely he could’ve came up with something more creative. 

“I still want my big promposal Xiao-Long.” Blake smirked and Yang’s eyes widened. “Maybe I could top the Jaune sign but I’m not too sure,” she said, the smile and tone giving away the sarcasm. Blake chuckled and rolled her eyes but that only left Yang wondering if she did actually want one of those cringe promposals. Sure, she could definitely do that, she knew bold grand gestures off by heart. 

“I’m sorry you can’t play in the finals babe,” Blake said, idly scrolling through her Instagram and past one of Coco’s posts. “No, I’m playing in the finals?” Blake sat up, piercing gold eyes boring into Yang’s soul. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to reveal that. “Yang, you _just_ got your cast off, it’s still sensitive.” 

“It’ll be fine, I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re seriously going to play?”

“Yeah, why not, the other team is dog shit anyway.” Yang shrugged but Blake didn’t look at all amused or pleased, actually she looked very pissed off. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself again though,” Blake whined, cuddling into the blondes arm and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Yang leaned over to kiss her. “I won’t, I promise...” she murmured against her lips, gently brushing them together. 

So maybe Yang had conjured up a little plan from the last five minutes. 

“Didn’t you say you wanted to take a shower?” Blake asked, clicking her phone off and lazily tossing it to the side. Yang hummed and dragged herself off of the sofa. “Only if you join me.” She winked and grinned slyly. “Maybe.” Yang raised an eyebrow and twisted her head to the side, not convinced. “I’ll consider it.”

The blonde huffed a laugh and took off upstairs. Blake sometimes thought that this was their house, both of them treated it as such. Yang would make herself completely at home now that she was well acquainted with the family. Even more so when it was just her and Blake. Like right now, she had dashed off to grab her spare clothes and jump in the shower, she could do that like this was her home. Blake distantly thought that would be rather nice if it were to become a reality. 

There was a sharp knock at the door that sent her ears swivelling, but when she looked over there was nobody standing behind it through the small window. Curiosity got the better of her and she moved to open the front door. ‘ _Curiosity killed the cat_ ,’ she darkly thought. 

Clicking the door open revealed a small brown box... which was on fire. 

Blake yelped and began to stamp on it to put out the fire, something firm under her foot didn’t feel quite right, and neither did the feeling she got from it. When the flames began to cease her heart dropped and she jumped backwards into the doorframe, letting out a breathless scream. There in the box lay a dead kitten, its rich black fur soaked in blood, a deep wound on its belly revealed that it was in fact dead. She looked down at her shoe to see it covered in blood, her footstep staining the concrete path outside her door. 

Yang bolted down the stairs upon hearing the sound of her panic. She slid her hands down Blake’s arms, crouching slightly so she could look up into her eyes as Blake leant against the doorframe. Blake simply nodded at the box and Yang followed her gaze. The blonde leaned over the box to catch a glimpse of what was inside, the sight and smell immediately horrified her and she hopped back the same way Blake had. 

They both then realised there was a half charred note next to the box that read; ‘do you think this is funny?’ 

“ _Jesus_...” Yang murmured, slowly exhaling a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Blake slid her shoes off and sat them on the lawn, trying not to look or think about the blood on them. “I’ll... I’ll get rid of this,” Yang said, miffed from whatever the fuck this was. The blonde, ever the gentlewoman, picked up the box from the edges, slightly burning her hand, and dropped it off down the street, leaving it there. She had no clue what to do with it. But she was certain about where it came from, and why it was here.

* * *

Yang had ended up being more nervous for the finals than she thought she would be. Sure, she had promised she wouldn’t get hurt, was the captain of the team and the whole match was basically riding on her making the correct plays. Plus this wasn’t their scene, this was an actual stadium with cameras and reporters. Which was honestly a big moment so of course she would be incredibly nervous. 

So maybe her big plan she made up in less than five minutes was not a good idea, especially not in front of a couple hundred people.

“Why are you staring at your helmet? You look like you’re in one of those cheesy movies,” Coco quipped, sitting down next to her on the bench. Yang half smiled and bumped her shoulder pad off of Coco’s, the other girl caught on straight away. “Ah, I see. Soft smile, super nervous, this is a _Blake_ thing,” the brunette said with such confidence. “No, this is an all round, super big moment thing.”

“Sure it is, you know we’re gonna win.”

“Yeah, I’m scared we’re gonna jinx it, too.”

“No I can’t afford to lose. I bought a ton of shit for me and Velvet for when we win,” Coco said and Yang turned to her with a baffled expression. “You’ve already bought it though- plus what does that have to do with us winning?”

“Because it’ll be a cool little reward for it.”

“What did you buy anyway?” Yang asked, then immediately feared that the answer would be somewhat sexual. She was aware of how normal those conversations were for her and Coco, but the longer she dated Blake the more it kind of weirded her out. Because why would she want anyone to know about how her girlfriend was in bed? “I bought a new camera for Velvet and some new materials for myself.”

Unexpected but very wholesome, Yang smiled. “I still think it’s so cool how the two of you work together,” she said and Coco blushed slightly, looking down at her hands as she let out a flustered laugh. The great Coco Adel blushing like a school girl was something she wasn’t used to. Yang laughed and nudged her with her elbow, causing Coco to chuckle with her. The door swung open as Pyrrha strode through, laughing at someone at the other side of the door. The blush on her cheeks and the way she tucked her hair behind her ears gave it away.

Yang and Coco glanced at each other, then at Nora who appeared next to them to grin evilly. The three of them clapped and whistled. Pyrrha jumped and her blush deepened, turning the same shade as her hair. She pouted as she turned towards her gym bag, trying to ignore them. But the whistling and clapping continued. “I hate you guys,” she said, shrieking as Nora tossed a water bottle at her. “It’s not our fault you and Jaune took two years to finally get together,” Nora says as she plops herself down on the bench next to Yang.

“It took you guys two years but it took Yang and Blake two days, how the hell does that happen?” Coco laughed, everyone joining in with her. Yang dipped her head down as she laughed, slightly embarrassed and knowing that this conversation was going to take a turn. “That’s a soulmate thing,” Pyrrha said. 

‘ _There it is,_ ’ Yang thought, internally howling her laughter. 

“Pyrrha, please, we know you love all that kind of stuff but it’s definitely not a soulmate thing,” Yang said before sighing. 

“I’m gonna tell Blake you said you don’t love her enough to be her soulmate.”

“Coco, shut up.” 

“Okay, what’s your favourite colour Yang?” Pyrrha asked, and Yang genuinely had to ponder that for a moment. “Yellow.”

“And what colour are Blake’s eyes.”

“...yellow.”

“What’s her favourite colour?”

“Purple- _this doesn’t prove anything!_ ” Yang jumped to her feet and grabbed her helmet, banging on the locker doors to get everyone’s attention. “Get ready to lineup people!”

“We’ve still got another twenty minutes, you’re not getting out of this.” 

* * *

Blake was starting to feel like a celebrity, what with the teams lining up in front of her, the cheerleaders finally getting their big moment, and somehow she was sitting front row with the rest of her friends yet again. Either they had incredible luck or someone was reserving seats for them.

“I’m not sure she should be playing,” Tai said from beside her. He and Qrow had decided to come seeing as it was the finals and Yang was playing, it was a big moment for her. “I said that to her but she insisted she was playing,” Blake said, sighing deeply. She had resigned herself to the fact that once Yang had her mind set on something, it was going to happen no matter what she said. “If Yang breaks a bone this time I’m not taking you to the hospital, last time you had us both chasing a doctor,” Jaune said and everyone turned to glare at him.

Weiss slapped his arm and turned to look at Blake. “If that happens, I’ll drive you.” Blake smiled, she liked that her and Weiss had grew quite close. How could they not? They always ended up at the Xiao-Long-Rose-Branwen-ton of surnames residence. “Also you’re only getting let off with a light slap because you finally asked Pyrrha out,” Weiss said to Jaune, pointing a menacing index finger at his face.

“That was a _light_ slap?! You practically broke my arm!”

“Well then who’s gonna drive you to the hospital?” Ruby said, smirking and high fiving her dad over Blake’s head, which was admittedly very loud for her ears but she was starting to get used to instances like this. Jaune whimpered and leaned back in his seat, gaze set on the field. “Nothing to worry about for Yang,” Qrow said, jabbing Tai in the ribs with his bony elbow. He pointed at the field, towards he other team. “If Yang walked past these kids they would fall, so Yang tackling them might be a hazard to their health.”

Blake and Tai exchanged glances of pure concern, that didn’t make them feel any better.

The match started and they could all see the look of utter devastation on Pyrrha’s face for them being on the defensive. However Yang looked thrilled, patting the redhead on the back as she passed by her on the way to her own position. The ball was snapped back and Blake noticed that Yang was beginning to move forward, away from where she was supposed to be. What the hell was she doing- _oh_...

As the other team tried to pass the ball, Yang caught it instead, beginning her sprint down the field completely unopposed. Blake began laughing involuntarily when everyone cheered for her scoring. Nora hopped onto her shoulders to celebrate and the other team looked shook. They clearly hadn’t expected that. “I guess she’s fine after all...” Tai laughed, taken aback by what he had just witnessed. Yang waved at them as got back into position. Blake was too busy staring at her and realised she was completely missing the conversation next to her.

“You’re wearing a dress to prom?” Jaune asked, his question directed at Ruby. Blake was admittedly surprised as well, she usually went for a more gender neutral outfit, which probably spoke to something deeper but she wasn’t going to voice that thought anytime soon. “Yeah, Weiss helped me pick it.” No one was surprised by that sentence. Weiss smiled proudly and began fishing around her handbag for her phone.

“Look,” she said, flicking onto her photos to show them. Ruby’s dress was long, bright red, with a corset and tiny straps. It was actually really nice. Weiss’ was long and blue, with a slit down one side revealing her leg and a split down her cleavage, a tiny metal strap holding it together. Weiss looked very proud of both of their choices.

“Did you guys not want to go matching?” Ren asked from the other side of Jaune, Blake nodded at him to show she had the same question. “It’s opposing colours to show that we are opposites, so technically it’s matching.”

“No, _not at all_.”

“It is!” Weiss insisted. Blake and Ren looked at each other, the same confused look. They accepted that Weiss had no clue what she was talking about and had been faking her fashion sense this entire time. “I’m wearing a pink suit,” Ren said, gaining a smile from everyone. They had no clue why that was so nice to hear. “Skip prom altogether, it’s bullshit,” Qrow said, kicking his feet up onto the wall in front of him. “Ignore him, he was banned from prom,” Tai said, playfully pushing Qrow away.

They went back to watching the match and Blake had to admit, she had no reason to worry about Yang. She was sure Yang had scored majority of the points during the game and couldn’t recall seeing the other team stop her once. There was a huge grin plastered on Coco’s face every time they caught a glimpse of her face under her helmet. Pyrrha looked utterly surprised, she probably hadn’t expected Yang to come back this strong.

There were a few reporters and commentators, each of them commenting on how well Yang was doing. Tai pointed out to them that there were scouts sitting just down the row from them, if she got scouted it would mean she could get a scholarship anywhere. The image of Yang going to an Atlas university was there in her mind and Blake wasn’t sure if she liked it, she would never see her...

“Speaking of scouts, have you heard from any?” Blake asked Ruby, who’s face lit up. “Yeah a few, I still don’t know what to do though,” she said and her face saddened a little. It was a big decision on where to go. Between seeing Weiss and her family or her career/education. It wasn’t an easy choice unless you could have both.

The buzzer rang out signalling the end of the match and, as most people thought, Beacon won. They won by a landslide. Blake had to laugh at Yang as she picked up Pyrrha, who was nearest to her, and held her in the air. Coco had thrown her helmet so hard in celebration that it cracked in half. Velvet looked away and pretended she hadn’t saw that. A reporter began to saunter over to Yang and Blake prepared for the onslaught of arrogance that would come from her. 

Tai laughed and pointed to Ozpin, who was making their way towards them. 

The questions were the typical ‘how does this win make you feel?’ Which was expected, and Yang replied with bragging and small jokes about how she carried the team. Majority of her team glared at her for that one. Yang reached forward and took the mic with the reporters permission.

“Uh, actually I’ve got a question, for my girlfriend up in the stands,” Yang said, grin growing on the face, her giddiness spreading to Coco behind her. The brunette was trying to hold back her laughs. Blake’s face flushed, ears pinning back, butterflies kicking up in her stomach. People around her seemed to catch on that she was said girlfriend and began looking at her. “ _Oh no_...” she muttered and began to sink down in the chair. 

“Please god no, not like this.” She buried her head in her hands in an attempt to hide herself. Tai sympathetically patted her on the shoulder. 

“Want to go to prom with me?” Yang spoke softly into the mic, teeth and eyes gleaming. Blake mumbled a yes behind her hands that she obviously couldn’t hear. Ruby shot Yang two thumbs up to signal that she had indeed agreed. “She said yes,” Yang says as she hands back her mic and the amount of people applauding astounded Blake. 

She supposed this embarrassment was karma for wanting this in the first place. 

* * *

“ _I can’t believe you did that..._ ”

“Hey, you did say you wanted your big cheesy promposal and I delivered,” Yang said, far too happy about what she did. Blake sighed heavily and tucked her face into Yang’s neck, still far too embarrassed from the memory. All of the butterflies came back when she thought of it, which she weirdly loved but... no that was horrifying for her anxiety. 

“I still can’t believe you did that though,” She whined. Yang chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Well now it’s caught on camera for everyone to see.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“I sent it to your mom, she approves.”

“Okay, let’s move on from this,” Blake said, bracing her hands on Yang’s shoulders and sitting up straight. Yang had decided that since this was her last match and they won, that she would throw a party at her house. Tai and Qrow had cleared out, strangely they were going over to Blake’s house to hang out with her parents.

The worst part about being in a room full of people who they knew was that they were also at the football game. So they kept bringing up Yang asking her to go to prom with her. It resulted in the two of them sneaking off to the balcony and sitting on the little wooden bench that Tai had installed a few weeks back. Yang silently sipped her beer, rubbing soothing circles against Blake’s lower back.

“Blake?” Yang said, a strange nervousness that she hadn’t heard in her voice since the first time they went on a date. Blake sat back, ears twitching as she sensed something wrong. “Yeah, what’s up?” She asked, placing a hand on Yang’s knee as she took a sip from her cup. “I got an email about me getting an athletic scholarship, because it was near the end of term they wanted to act fast...”

Blake’s eyes blew wide. “Well that’s great, for where?”

“Shade Academy in Vacuo,” She said, flicking her eyebrows. Blake’s ears immediately flattened against her head. Vacuo was a long way from where they lived. Plus she already knew she was going to VU (Vale University) so it wasn’t even a matter of going with her. Blake blinked a few times trying to process. “That’s still great though, we can figure out when we can see each other-“

“I’m not going.”

“What?” Blake was somehow more shocked by that. “ _Why_?” Yang bit her lip and chuckled dryly, looking down at her bottle as she scraped her thumb up and down the label. “You _know_ why...” she said quietly. Blake sighed and drained the last of her cup, sitting it aside. She sat up straight, bracing her hand on Yang’s shoulder as the other one idly slid along her leg. “No, I don’t. This is a good thing,” she said, trying to find an answer on Yang’s face.

They hadn’t spoke about this before. Not really. They had just been taking things as they came, not really looking forward to what came next. Blake had already been accepted into VU, which was ideal. She lived here and wouldn’t have to deal with moving away. Yang hadn’t gotten into anywhere yet, she was waiting for scholarships that she knew she would get. Because with scholarships came financial aid and free accommodation. So Blake found it hard to believe she would turn that down.

It would be stupid to- it _was_ stupid to. Even if she did have to move to Vacuo, which was almost fifteen thousand miles away and they would barely ever see each other. Also her family was here in Vale... along with the rest of her friends. Maybe she was scared her dad would spiral again if she moved away, it might even be something to do with her mom. “Is this about your dad-“

“ _Jesus Blake, no_! It’s _you_! How could you not know that?”

“Because if you move away we can still make it work, like I said we can figure out when we can see each other-“

“No, _fuck that_ , I don’t want to _be_ without you,” Yang said, licking her lips and gulping. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Blake and the bottle she was still fiddling with. “This right here.” Yang motioned her finger between the two of them. “ _This_ is good and I don’t want to give that up,” she said, her nervous gulping and flicking of eyes returning. Blake bent down, pressing a kiss to Yang’s shoulder, not thinking it was the time to lean in for a real kiss.

“You wouldn’t be giving this up, we would still see each other... _not often_ but you get the idea.”

“I’m not sure I can wait once every two months to have sex with you.” Blake tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, Yang realised how that sounded. “Not that I would cheat on you, I love you and that’s why I want to stay here, so we can be together, and not just for-“

“No, I understood, I was just fucking with you.” Yang’s jaw dropped, she had clearly forgotten about Blake’s ability to mess with her. And in such a serious moment? Double surprised. The smirk indicated to Blake that she had more to say though. “But I did get a scholarship for one other place.” Yang’s smirk grew, as did Blake’s as she waited for her to continue.

“I got into VU-“

Blake slapped her across the face.

“ _Why did you do that?!_ ”

“ _Why didn’t you just tell me that from the start?!_ ”

“Because it was gonna be a fun surprise-“

“ _What_ part of letting me think I would barely see you for about four years was ‘ _fun_ ’?” Blake took the bottle out of Yang’s hand, taking a drink from it. If she ever did need a drink, it was right now. That had to be one of Yang’s cruelest jokes. Yang giggled lightly, smiling at Blake as she pulled her onto her lap. “Aren’t you glad you can hear me complain about my civil and mechanical engineering courses everyday?”

Blake sighed and gave up, she couldn’t be angry, she couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome to be honest. She danced her fingers along Yang’s shoulder, taking a sip from her beer bottle. Yang had to chuckle at how Blake shamelessly stole her drink. “Yeah, hearing how intelligent you are is a _real_ turn on.” Blake smirked. The blonde hummed and slid her hands over her hips, smirking. “I know you’re trying to be sarcastic but I also know that is one of your weird turn ons.”

“Shut up.”

“Speaking of...” Yang hummed and leaned forward to peck Blake’s lips, moving down her jawline to her neck. Blake moaned, admittedly enjoying this, but she also had more questions. “Hold on, why were you so nervous?” Yang immediately stilled against her, a shaky breath being exhaled as she pulled back just enough so that she could look at Blake. “Because... y-you know,” she shrugged awkwardly and Blake had no idea what she meant. She raised an eyebrow.

“I realised something last week w-when we were watching that Menagerie documentary.” Blake smiled softly, because that was such an odd moment to realise something. They had been lying on the sofa watching tv after Yang had made the worst pasta ever. Just a normal day. “And you realised?” Blake asked, intrigued. “I realised that’s gonna be our lives, I realised how serious we are- and that’s good right?”

Blake nodded, unable to contain herself from smiling so broadly. “It is, and you’re right,” she said, hooking her arms around the blondes neck to pull her closer. Yang allowed Blake to slant their lips together, letting her take control and really lean into it. Yang swiped at her bottom lip and she allowed her that access to deepen the kiss further. Blake knew she was drunk on more than the alcohol she had been drinking tonight.

They were both startled by the door bursting open beside them, Pyrrha and Jaune tumbling through, lips locked to each other. The four of them met each other’s stares for a few awkward seconds before Blake decided to make the first move in this standoff, standing up and pulling Yang with her. “We... will leave you to whatever this is,” Blake said, making sure to shut the door tightly behind them as they left.

“So,” Blake managed to say over the music, letting Yang guide her through the sea of people in her hallway. “Are we going to actually enjoy your party?”

“I was already enjoying my party,” Yang said, pulling Blake closer by the waist, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. “I don’t think having serious conversations with me is your idea of a good time.”

“Anything with you is a good time.”

“Yang.”

“I mean it! I-“

Blake silenced her with another kiss, it was the only way to shut up a ranting Yang. She loved how despite everything happening around them, she could get lost in speaking with Yang and pecking her lips. The blonde leaned their foreheads together, dragging her by the waist along the hallway. Yang saw a spillage down her wall and accepted that her dad was going to murder her when this was over. Yang leaned down to kiss her against but jolted back when she was smacked with an empty cup.

“You guys are gross,” Velvet said, hanging onto Coco’s arm. Yang narrowed her eyes. “I think we’re all cute,” Blake said. She leaned into Yang and whispered, “ _We’re cuter._ ” The blonde laughed and wrapped an arm around her. Velvet leaned into Coco and mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like ‘no, we’re cuter.’ The four of them laughed again.

Coco smiled down at Velvet, who reached up and snatched the sunglasses from her face, putting them on herself. She tilted them down slightly and winked, this being her impression of her girlfriend. Blake had to say that it was very accurate. “Gotta admit, I’m impressed you didn’t fuck up your arm more than you already did,” Coco said. Yang hummed, not knowing whether or not to take that as an insult or a compliment.

“Yeah, well, I promised I wouldn’t hurt myself,” Yang said, smiling. Blake bit back her own smile, knowing that the promise had been made to her. Velvet smiled at the two of them then pointed towards the door, “Cool party, sorry to say we have to go though.”

“We got tickets to a play Velvet loves, so we’re gonna go do that.” Coco explained with a happy smile on her face. They quickly said their goodbyes and took off out the door. “Should we do something like that?” Yang asked, turning back to Blake.

“Yeah, maybe,” Blake said, swinging her arms around Yang’s neck and moving closer to her. “You know what we haven’t done since you broke your arm?” She said, her smirk sly and sinister. Yang mimicked her expression. “I do, but unfortunately there’s a ton of people in my house right now, and there is probably someone having sex in my room right now.”

Blake cringed.

“Yeah I know, I wish that was us too.”

“No, I’m cringing because we have to sleep in there later.”

They heard a clatter of glass from the kitchen. Glancing inside they saw Neptune had broken Qrow’s favourite mug. The two of them looked at each other. Yang gently grabbed Blake’s hand and said, “We could always leave this to Ruby and Weiss.”

“Great idea babe.”

The two of them hurried out of the house in an attempt to avoid any further blame. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rlly do be realising we’re close to the end but I’m loving this sm. Next chapters a doozy and also prom because I missed my own one because of corona. The gf was not happy about it.


	26. Prom Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s prom night and Blake and Yang are ready for their fun. They hope it isn’t jinxed.

Before the new year, if you asked Blake how she felt about prom; she would say it was a waste of time. She might even go on a rant about how derivative the whole event was, every girl copied each other’s outfits and every guy had the exact same suit on. She would claim she wasn’t going to prom, she _never_ was and _never_ will. Because she thought it was a waste of time.

But now that she was going she was unbearably excited about it. There was something about the whole event that made her feel like it was her wedding day. Then there was Yang, who had hyped it up so much that she hoped it would live up to the reputation. However, she did have to admit, the day had its downsides. Like the amount of preparation that went into the night. 

Weiss had asked if Blake wanted to go for a spray tan, something that she had never done in her life and didn’t want to start now. Weiss admitted she didn’t want to either. Nora did though. Yang had replied to their group chat saying she looked like an Oompa Loompa. 

So her day was going well, she thought, Weiss had dragged her to get her makeup done professionally and to a hairdressers. She didn’t need any of these things but she went to make sure Weiss didn’t turn Ruby into a different human. Like right now, Weiss had demanded Ruby have her hair straightened and Blake was surprised to find out she had a side fringe.

Her hair was usually an organised mess, which was actually a good look, but hid the fact that Ruby had a side fringe. 

“Yang’s gonna make fun of me...” Ruby grumbled, running a hand through her hair in the mirror. The salon was packed with orange teens all getting the same hairstyle, braids threaded through their hair, their eyelashes the length of skyscrapers and faces caked with makeup. Blake thanked god she didn’t have that much on her face... or her hair. Actually, apart from the purple eyeshadow, she looked extremely normal. “Yang makes fun of everybody, she’ll even make fun of Blake,” Weiss said, trying (and failing) to reassure Ruby.

“You look gorgeous,” Weiss said, smiling as she tilted Ruby’s chin up. It was actually very wholesome to watch. Blake quickly snapped a picture on her phone. “Speaking of.” Weiss sighed, standing up straight. “Where is Yang?” She asked. Blake hummed, too busy texting as they were walking to reply to Weiss. The white haired girl rolled her eyes and took Ruby’s hand, who was still pouting about her hair. 

**Ilia:** so ur actually going?

**Blake:** ofc, it sounds fun

**Ilia:** hold up did u just abbreviate ur text????

**Ilia:** is this yang I’m texting and not Blake?

**Blake:** no it’s me, the abbreviations are just starting to rub off on me  


Blake slid her phone back in her pocket as they got in the car, being made to sit in the backseat because Ruby was here. “Sorry, what did you ask a second ago Weiss?” Blake asked. She never replied. Blake and Ruby both shrieked as Weiss stamped her foot down on the accelerator, swerving through the car park at full throttle, flipping off the person who had cut in front of her, she had to settle in her place within the traffic. 

“ _Anyways_ ,” Weiss said, clearing her throat. Blake checked her pulse to make sure she was still alive, whilst Ruby fanned her face, flustered and caught off guard by Weiss’ sudden road rage. “I was asking where Yang was?”

“Oh, I don’t know actually. Was she supposed to come with us?” Blake asked. She genuinely had no clue where Yang was, she had texted her this morning saying that she was excited to see her but apart from that. _Radio silence_. Which was odd considering how loud and brash Yang was, she was also wore bright colours in general. She could be spotted from the moon and would pose for those who saw her. “No, I was just wondering what she was doing. What’s she wearing tonight?”

“I also have no clue about that.”

“ _What?!_ ” Weiss cried, head snapping back to face Blake so quickly that Blake swore she got whiplash. “She promised she’s matching with me, but I really don’t know what she’s wearing,” Blake said, wincing at the way Weiss growled. She looked over to Ruby expecting her to spill the beans. Ruby shrugged. “I said I’d keep it a secret, you’ll both just have to wait.”

“Blake, call her.”

In fear of Weiss’ tone she pulled out her phone to call Yang. 

**Unknown:** did you enjoy my present?

**Unknown:** you’re finished belladonna 

Blake ignored the texts and clicked on Yang’s name in her contacts. Letting it ring once, twice, three times. She was about to give up when she answered.

“Hey, something wrong?”

“No, not at all! Just wondering where you’ve been all day?”

“Getting ready, gotta look ten outta ten for you baby!” Yang’s voice boomed across her speaker. She could imagine the grin on her face right now. “Yang what are you wearing tonight?” Weiss asked and there was a pause as Yang thought up a response.

“Hopefully nothing, that is, if the night goes well.” Blake laughed at her false attempt at seduction. Yang knew all of the buttons to press on Weiss and made sure she mashed them each time they spoke. “You better not show us up Xiao-Long.” Weiss warned and Ruby didn’t at all look intimidated by that voice. How she had somehow overcame that tone was beyond Blake, but she assumed that she had more experience with that voice than Blake did.

“You’re not gonna stand me up are you?” Blake grinned to herself and heard Yang giggle across the phone. “I’d rather set you down-“

“Yang, I’m also in the car,” Ruby said, cringing at how gross this all was. Blake saw her point, if she had a sister she wouldn’t want to bear witness to this either. Yang made a strangled sound from her embarrassment and Blake had to blush, she was in on this embarrassing moment too. “S-Sorry Rubes,” Yang says, shifting around on the other side of the phone. “Right so, Weiss, the four of us are driving down together right?”

“Yeah, Blake can’t ride down on the back of your motorcycle.”

“Totes, well Blake, see you at seven!” Yang cooed, the soft click of the phone hanging up rang out. Blake was a little sad she didn’t even get to say bye but then realised that was extremely petty as she was going to see her later. Weiss leaned back in her seat, taking the moment to begin driving again. “Will I just assume I’m picking Yang up along with you?”

“Yeah, if not I’ll text you,” Blake said. Ruby whistled and banged on the ceiling. Weiss scolded her for that but the sentiment stood; they were excited. 

* * *

“ _Awwww_ , you look _gorgeous_ sweetheart!”

Blake pursed her lips, mildly embarrassed by her mom’s compliment. She actually did love her dress. The dark purple of it fit nicely with her whole aesthetic, and she loved the lace sleeves, speckles of gold throughout the sleeves and lining of the dress. She had originally thought the bare back and deep v-neck plunge would be too risqué, paired with the mermaid cut- she loved the dress. She would usually stand here and pretend to be above it all but this was her favourite, she would wear it to her wedding if she could.

“You think I look alright?” She asked, ruffling her bangs and adjusting her earrings. She watched Kali roll her eyes in the mirror and take a step forward, picking up the purple chain wallet to match her dress. She had to look up at Blake, who was already taller than her but even more so with heels on. Blake thought it must have been strange to see your daughter growing taller than you. “I need to get my phone, we need pictures.”

“Do we really?”

“Yes.” Kali was already marching out of the room before she could reply. Blake accepted her fate was death by pictures. She did think she was far too old for pictures but that was a conversation/argument for another day. Blake glanced at the time, reading five past seven. She sighed and leaned over to look out the window, she hadn’t heard from Yang since she had called her earlier when she was with Weiss. Blake was starting to get worried. 

**Blake:** ruby, do you know where yang is?

**Ruby:** i don’t, I’m already @ prom w Weiss setting up

**Blake:** okay, thanks anyway 

Kali came back into the room along with Ghira, who was very straight faced compared to her mom who was almost in tears. The tiny smile on her dad’s face indicated that he approved. Blake began to laugh as Kali began to cry, passing her phone to Ghira to take photos instead. Blake had to stand and pose for what felt like years, itching to move away when she heard her phone buzz.

“I’ve gotta check my phone-“

“No! Just one more!”

“Mom!”

“ _Fine_...” she grumbled, wiping away her tears. Ghira looked vaguely embarrassed and Blake couldn’t blame him. She grabbed her phone, hoping it was Yang texting to explain why she was late. 

**Unknown:** how fucking dare you not answer me

She finally snapped. 

**Blake:** adam just leave me the fuck alone, it’s over

**Unknown:** that’s it?

**Blake:** yes, it’s over, let it go and move on

**Unknown:** after everything how could you say that?

**Blake:** there never was anything and i’m glad i know that now. don’t text me again 

She clicked her phone off and put it in her wallet as she prepared to leave. That was whenever Yang decided to turn up-

The familiar roar of an engine had her dismissing her previous thought, carefully walking across the carpet in her heels to look out the window. She choked on air at what she was seeing. No wonder Yang didn’t tell her what she was wearing, because she would have had no clue how to respond to what she was witnessing. Yang sat atop her bike in a yellow pinstripe suit, aviators settled coolly on her nose. This wasn’t what Blake considered ‘matching’ but she would let it slide.

“ _Oh my god..._ ” she chuckled, still watching Yang get off of her bike and pick up the bag attached to the back of it. Blake hurried down the stairs as best she could in her heels, rushing to the front which Kali had already opened. Yang continued walking towards the door, biting her tongue. Even when she got to the door she didn’t say anything, only gulped and initiated a staring contest between herself and Blake. She had just now noticed that Yang wore a purple tie with her suit and wondered if that was the ‘matching’ part she was talking about.

“Are you gonna say anything or keep staring at me?” Blake asked, finally breaking the silence. Yang let out a series of broken noises, tucking her sunglasses into her jacket pocket. The blonde held up the bag she had taken off of the back of her bike. “Weiss isn’t picking us up for like another hour, so I brought food,” she said smiling. “Hope you haven’t eaten yet missus B, because I bought _way_ too much food, totally not on purpose!”

Blake smiled and stepped aside, letting Yang step inside. Kali thanked Yang and took the bag from her, moving into the kitchen. The blonde sucked on her front teeth and tucked her hands into her trouser pocket, eyes scanning over Blake. “You...” she cut herself off, mouth hanging open. “...Wow.”

“ _Wow_?”

“A-Ah, yeah... _whoa_ -“

“You can just say I look nice, you don’t need to stumble over yourself.”

“Okay beautiful,” Yang said, winking at her as her odd nervousness began to dissipate. Blake leaned over to kiss her cheek, resting her arm over Yang’s shoulder. “You look really good too by the way, very... _bright_.”

“I knew you’d get a kick out of it, plus Weiss will hate it so it’s a win-win.” Blake rolled her eyes and glanced into the kitchen where her mom was opening up the bag of food Yang brought in, Ghira lingering in the background and pretending not to be interested in the food. “What did you get?” Blake asked.

“Sushi-“

“ _You don’t like sushi!_ ”

“Sushi for _you_ and chicken teriyaki for me. I’m learning not to do things I hate to impress you.” They both chuckled and Yang could no longer resist the urge to put her hands on Blake’s waist, her dress framed her too perfectly to pass up. “Then I bought extra food for your folks because I’m pretty amazing like that,” Yang said haughtily, the cocky grin on her face making Blake roll her eyes. Sometimes she could be so insufferable but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yang leaned down to gently peck her lips, pulling back as she didn’t want to ruin her makeup, if that was possible. “Real talk, I knew you wouldn’t have eaten yet and you get super grumpy when you’re hungry.”

“You know me way too well, my anxiety also gets worse when I’m hungry.”

“I know, which is why I got these...” Yang trailed off as she rifled through her pocket, flashing a box pills. “Picked up your prescription. I know Weiss can be a little all consuming when she takes you places. So I swung by the chemist for you instead.” She smiled. Blake was amazed at how well Yang knew her, yet somehow she wasn’t. She smiled and tugged on Yang’s hand to pull her closer, kissing her softly.

“I also have a dope surprise for you later.”

“You gave Weiss money to book us into a hotel for the next day or two.”

“She told you didn’t she?”

“Couldn’t wait to, practically screamed it right there in the hairdressers.” Yang bit her lip and scrunched her nose up, averting her gaze. She was disappointed in Weiss to say the least. “Why did you go so all out for this?” Blake asked and Yang shrugged, shuffling her feet. “I just thought it’d be fun.” Blake hummed and leaned in to kiss her again, that was as good a reason as any. Both of Blake’s arms ended up wrapped around Yang’s neck, resting their foreheads together lightly.

“Remind me not to try not to screw up your makeup or step on your dress,” Yang said and they both giggled at each other, their smiles staying even as their laughs left them. They heard the click of a camera and Blake’s ears pinned back as she glared over at her mom. “I’m sorry! It was cute!”

“Mom, mind your own business for five minutes!”

“This is my house-“ Kali waved her hand in a circle, motioning at the couple. “-so this is my business.”

Yang grinned and turned back to Blake, shrugging slightly. “She’s kind of right,” she said and Blake rolled her eyes, ears rotating to a sharp point in annoyance. Kali laughed at Yang agreeing with her, somehow finding the hilarity in this. “You can marry me or my mom, who do you choose?”

“You’re dad, he’s more chill.”

“Yang, you’re so annoying.”

“Don’t lie Blakey, you love it.”

* * *

Blake joked about how Yang must have regretted coming an hour before Weiss was to pick them up. They were subject to what they deemed a snapshot massacre. Yang also nearly spilled her drink down her suit a few times causing Blake to panic. But somehow, they made it. Weiss had sent a text saying she was on her way, which was worrying because they knew how she drove.

“I’m willing to bet she’s gonna knock someone down on the way here,” Yang said, smiling at Blake. “Your bets on what she’ll say first when she gets here?” Blake placed a hand on her chin in genuine thought, there were many freak outs that could happen. “My bets are on she’ll say ‘no time for pictures, we’ve gotta go’.” Blake smiled and pointed at Yang. That was the scenario she was going with.

“Yeah she seems pretty tame at the moment, otherwise she’d be crashing into my bike or something.” Yang nodded. There was a screech of tires and a clunking of metal that came from outside. They both looked at each other in shock, hoping that Yang hadn’t just jinxed herself. They moved to the window as quickly as possible, Blake’s parents joining them to see the ongoing commotion. Blake and Yang sighed in relief when they saw Weiss had knocked over the neighbours bike and not Yang’s motorcycle.

On instinct the two of them began moving to leave, Yang reaching to grab Blake’s wallet on her way. Yang felt the leather buzz in her hand and rolled her eyes, that must be Weiss threatening them to get outside before she makes them. “Remember to call when your both home later,” Kali said, following them to the door. Blake hummed a small ‘mhm’, waving her mom off and clearly not having listened to a word she just said. “I’ll remind her,” Yang said, giving Kali a reassuring look.

Ghira silently nodded his approval in the background and Yang was almost certain thar was the first time he had ever done that. Weiss was glaring at them from her car, a petrified Ruby was sat in the passenger seat trying to signal that she was crazy right now. Yang and Blake accepted that challenge.

As soon as they got inside the car (which proved to be a task for Blake but no matter), they had been thrown back into the seats as Weiss started driving. However, Yang’s smugness returned almost instantaneously, “You ever thought about a career in formula one racing?”

An icy glare in the rear view mirror temporarily rendered her speechless.

“Yeah I’m not sure if you’d be good at it either, you might kill the other drivers.”

“Yang, I can’t deal with you right now, I’m _so_ stressed out!” Weiss yelled, her face a myriad of emotions. Such a delightful mix of anger, sadness, anguish and pure insanity that made Blake want to say she was fearing for her life. And no, that wasn’t just because they were driving at sixty miles per hour on a backstreet. Ruby and Yang exchanged glances in the mirror, Ruby leaning over to press her hand to Weiss’ upper arm. 

“Give me five minutes and I could take that stress away,” she said, winking. The huge grin painted on Yang’s face indicated that was a line she had taught Ruby. “Only five minutes? Jeez Weiss.” Blake cringed, showing a devious smirk and feeling great about her joke. The white haired girl spluttered a few random sounds, face contorting and lighting up red. Yang looked far too proud of Blake in the moment, pressing a loving kiss to her temple. 

“This is your fault Yang-“

“What is _my fault_ exactly?”

“This weird vendetta against me! You started this!”

“It’s out of love Weiss! We love you so we tease you,” Yang said. Blake nodded in agreement, “It’s true.” 

“We do love you,” Ruby said, wanting to join in. 

Weiss sighed and mumbled something under her breath that might have been ‘love you guys too,’ but they weren’t too sure. They liked to think she did say that. 

* * *

“ _Wow_...” 

Blake let out a breathy giggle as her and Yang walked inside, taking in the venue. She had to hand it to Weiss, she had done an amazing job. The bunting along the walls, stretching to the stage- there was a band playing? Herself and Yang both side eyed each other, that was very overboard. Aside from that she did everything perfectly, she got to set up tables the way she wanted and dictate where every speaker would be placed. 

The two of them followed Weiss all the way to a table next to the fire exit, which they were both underwhelmed by. They could only imagine the amount of people that would come in and out of this door and they would have to sit there. Sitting down, Yang chuckled and picked up one of the napkins from underneath the glass, waving it at Blake. “She got it right down to the napkin,” she said and they both giggled. Yang bit back her smile and waved the napkin again, “Bets on the colour name?”

Blake sucked in through her teeth trying to determine what she’d settle on. Too light to be tan, too dark to be ivory. “I’m gonna go for sand.”

“Sand? Seriously?”

“Yeah- stop laughing! _Okay_ , if _you’re_ such an expert, what’s your guess?”

“I’m gonna go for latte.” Blake bit her tongue and nodded, she’d take that action. She turned and waved Weiss over, who had to drag herself away from yelling at one of the band members to come speak to them. “What’s this colour called?” Blake asked, tapping her finger off of the napkin. “Sand,” she said, and Yang placed both hands on her face, defeated. Weiss raised an eyebrow but walked off without questioning them.

Blake cackled at her unintentional victory, leaning over to kiss Yang’s cheek. They both ended up laughing again. Blake had no idea why she felt so giddy right now, her insides doing flips every time Yang smiled. She loved it. “Oh my god...” Yang murmured. Blake shifted in her seat, one arm thrown over Yang’s shoulder whilst the other played with her collar. She twisted her head to see Qrow walking towards them, waving slightly.

“Hey kids,” he said, grunting as he sat down in one of the empty seats. “You... you both look good,” he said awkwardly, coughing to clear his throat. Blake had a fair idea that he wasn’t used to giving compliments, so she smiled that he was even giving one. “I never thought I’d see the day where you wore a suit, Qrow,” Yang said.

“I never thought I’d see the day where you actually turn into an actual firecracker.”

“Ha-ha.” Yang rolled her eyes, then gripped at her suit jacket squinting her eyes at it. Blake ran her thumb over the fabric to reassure her that she liked it. “Are you just waiting for your friends?” Qrow asked, looking around the room. Blake had to say, in a room with every table filled except theirs, she felt strange. But also like a V.I.P because Yang looked like she could easily be a celebrity. Ozpin began walking over with a glass of what suspiciously looked like alcohol at a school event. “You won’t need to wait much longer, I just spotted miss Nikos outside.”

“Was she with Jaune?” Yang asked, her and Blake grinning at each other then back at Ozpin. His lips slightly upturned and they took that as a yes. Which was a very exciting prospect because, finally. “You both look comfy,” Ozpin commented, eyebrows raised and pointedly looking at them. Yang hummed and purposely pulled Blake closer into her, who hugged her neck tighter in return, cheeks lightly pressed together. “Just making ourselves at home.” Qrow chuckled and stood up alongside Ozpin.

“No funny business.”

“We’re comedians.”

“Enjoy your night.” Ozpin chuckled, walking off and greeting Weiss on his way. Qrow followed behind him, the man was his only friend in this building apart from his nieces. Blake gently tilted Yang’s chin to look at the door, seeing Coco and Velvet walking towards them. Blake always knew they were the only two people who could pull off brown. Coco wore a brown suit and a silk scarf she had tucked into her shirt, signature sunglasses still on her face. Velvet, of course, had a light brown dress that looked stunning on her.

Velvet grinned and reached down for the napkins. “Aw look, she actually used my suggestion,” Velvet said, actually very happy about this revelation. “Do you know what colour it is?” Yang asked, smugness dripping off of every word. Velvet nodded as Coco snapped her fingers, the two of them said ‘sand’ in unison. Yang sighed and let Blake pet her cheek. “We just saw Pyrrha fixing Jaune’s tie,” Velvet said, sitting down next to Blake and pointing towards the door. Coco grinned and whipped her sunglasses off, tucking them into her jacket pocket, “Nora has a pink puffy dress on.”

Blake and Yang were honestly more excited to see Ren in a pink suit but they’d settle for the image of Nora dressed like a barbie doll. Blake glanced over to the door-

“Oh my god, _why_ is Sun dressed like a male stripper?”

Sun, from any other angle, would’ve looked fine. Black suit jacket and trousers, it was when he turned to face anyone that the problems started. His jacket was open and he wore a clip on collar with a bow tie. Blake was mildly disgusted but extremely amused, she hoped he got away with this so she could laugh about it later. Coco grinned and pointed at him, “Yeah, I convinced him to do that. He complained so much about his shirt that I made him do that instead.” Velvet sighed as she agreed with her.

“Hello!”

The four of them looked over to Pyrrha, who stood tall and bright with her long red dress brushing the floor, gold lining and designs glinting in the dull light. Jaune was a nervous wreck holding her hand, adjusting his shirt collar as if he was trying to free up room for him to breathe. “Jaune your...” Yang grabbed her own tie, trying to gesture to Jaune that there was something wrong with his own. Jaune and Pyrrha sat down at the table, the redhead immediately turning to fix his tie. Apparently he couldn’t do it on his own.

“Can’t believe Jaune’s a bottom,” Coco said, already stretching her arm out for Yang to high five, which she did so without doubt. “I don’t get it,” Blake whispered to Yang. The blonde shrugged and subtly shook her head. “I don’t either, I don’t know why I high fived that.” 

* * *

The night had went fairly well, so far. Weiss had only had one breakdown before Ozpin himself had to tell her to chill out. Ruby has helped her do that by coaxing her into dancing. Which Weiss proved to be quite graceful at. They were all star struck when Ren walked in with his pink suit. 

“It really suits you,” Yang had said, winking at Ren. Everyone groaned at that.

Everyone had took off to dance and before Blake thought it would be a great idea, but she had actually became self conscious about her awful dancing. She decided to idly check her phone whilst Yang was in the bathroom and physically recoiled at the amount of texts she was receiving. 

**Unknown:** why are you sitting alone? come talk

That made her feel sick. 

**Unknown:** did she leave you or did you push her away?

**Unknown:** should I go talk to her? 

“Hey miss anti-social!” Blake jumped, startled by the sound of Yang’s voice. She quickly put her phone back down. Yang sat down in the chair next to her, content to sit with her for a few moments. She glanced over at Weiss and Ruby. Ruby’s mouth could be seen moving a mile a minute and Weiss looked quite happy to listen to whatever she was talking about. Yang smiled back at Blake, standing up and reaching a hand out to her. The Faunus girl scrunched her nose up, shaking her head. “You know I’m terrible at it.”

“And you know I don’t care,” Yang said, reaching her hand down to take Blake’s. She pulled her to her feet, walking backwards and gently guiding Blake. She stumbled slightly in her heels, but didn’t fall, Yang was holding both of her hands and wasn’t letting her fall. Blake giggled when Yang led her into putting a hand on her shoulder. Hands intertwined and Yang’s tugging her waist closer. “Is this so hard?” Yang asked, swaying them from side to side. Blake nodded, “Yes, it’s actually very hard in six inch heels.”

“You’re telling me you don’t like this?”

“I hate this.”

“Do you actually-“

“I’m messing with you,” Blake says, pressing her head against Yang’s chest. “I love anything we do together.” Yang smiled softly, placing a few kisses along Blake’s Faunus ear, watching it twitch. The tufts of fur tickled her chin, but after months of dating, she had come to like the sensation. Blake reassured her that it wasn’t weird but it still felt odd. “So why did you go all out for tonight?” Blake asked.

“I don’t know... I guess I just thought it’d be a good excuse to spoil you.”

“You say this about everything.”

“And so do you, _it’s a nightmare!_ ” Yang shout whispered and Blake laughed, having only vaguely heard her over the music. “It’s not like it’s untrue though. If the opportunity to do something nice for you arises, I take it,” Blake said, deciding the only way Yang would hear her over the noise around them would be to have her cheek resting against Yang’s jaw, head on her shoulder. “Ditto,” the blonde said.

There was something about the moment that felt weightless, every moment with each other was, which they both knew to be odd. Not even the closest couple like Nora and Ren, who had known each other since childhood, could hold a candle to what they had. It was strange, and neither of them entirely understood it, but they settled for not dwelling on the feeling. Instead they just enjoyed it.

Blake took in a breath, eyes fluttering shut, completely at relaxed and home in the arms of her girlfriend, despite being in a crowd of people. She could hear Weiss yelling somewhere. That wasn’t uncommon, especially not for tonight. She had set up the whole event with just a few weeks notice and it was honestly remarkable what she had come up with. “Pyrrha just dipped Jaune,” Yang said, a few breath laughs slipping out. Blake turned her head to look, deciding she had to see this for herself. Unfortunately she had missed the moment, but saw a blushing Jaune in the aftermath.

She whimpered and turned her head back to its previous position. She saw someone standing at the fire exit and she narrowed her eyes. She gasped slightly when she realised who it was. Why the fuck was Adam Taurus at a high school prom? She was about to question how he got in, but seeing as he was stood at the fire exit, she assumed that was how. He grinned, sly and sinister, then had the _audacity_ to wave! This bastard _waved_ at her! Like it was a normal situation!

He walked back out through the door and Blake decided her patience had ran out. She was going to do something about this if no one else could. She pulled back from Yang, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” she said, taking a careful step back. Yang caught her hand when she tried to pull away, leaving her grip loose. “I can come with you,” Yang said with half of a nervous smile. It was clingy. It was cute. But Blake had something she needed to do.

And if she was honest, Yang had done more than help with her Adam problem, she didn’t want her bothered by this further.

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” Blake giggled. Yang made a throaty whining noise but muttered an ‘okay’ nonetheless. Blake started off walking slowly, tentatively, as if she was trying to take care in her heels. She looked back to see Yang had decided to occupy herself with speaking to Nora. That’s when she began to speed up, swerving to the fire exit before anyone could see her go.

Once there she discovered that there were so many ways she could go. The long spiral staircase leading up to the roof and down to the basement, a door leading to a storage closet and the actual exit. Her ear flickered, the slight brush of metal on metal coming from above her. Looking up she saw Adam flinch on reflex for having been caught, then grinning as he began running up the stairs. She looked from how far up he was to where she stood.

“Fuck it,” she muttered and took off after him, heels clicking off of each stair. Blake had greatly overestimated her stamina, for some reason she thought she could run up all of these stairs without running out of breath and boy was she wrong. Luckily, the staircase stopped at another hallway. She caught the tail end of Adam’s leg and, with that knowledge, took the few moments to catch her breath. She took off following him again, bursting through the door.

...and into the roof. Blake knew cliches off by heart and this was definitely one of them. However a quick sweep around the small open area made it clear that Adam wasn’t here. She jumped out of her skin when the door shut behind her. Adam stood proudly, a key twisting into the rickety door handle, locking them out here together. Blake supposed she had walked right into this trap. Following him had been a game of cat and mouse; she had now realised that _she_ was the mouse.

“It’s nice to have some alone time isn’t it, darling?” She shivered at how smooth and unwavering his voice was. Not a single hint of nervousness, pure insanity. Years ago she had thought she could change him, she later learned there was nothing to change. Whatever this was, it was ingrained into him. “What are you doing?” She snarled, taking a step forward.

“Having a long awaited talk with you,” he said, not moving. She took another step forward. “I hate this hard to get game you’re playing.”

“I’m not playing Adam, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

He tilted his head to the side, “Oh I know, you made that clear. You broke my heart.” His tone was too light for what he was saying. There was a violence on his face that scared her. She took another step forward. Searching for a way past to get to the door. She needed an exit.

* * *

Yang had been to the bathroom and back, done a quick once over of the entire room and yet she still couldn’t find Blake. She hadn’t took her phone with her either, evident by how it was still sitting on the table near their things. Coco raised an eyebrow at her as she walked over, sitting down with Velvet. “Something wrong?” She asked and Yang nodded her head wordlessly, still searching for Blake. 

“Have you guys saw Blake? She said she was going to the bathroom but that was a while ago.” Yang swallowed thickly. Why was she so nervous? Velvet nodded at her. “Yeah, I saw her go out the exit. I guess she needed some air or something.” Yang had briefly forgotten her manners, waving at Velvet as a sign of thanks as she strode off towards the door. 

She could see how Blake might come here. It was cooler and less noisy than inside. But she wasn’t here. Stepping out of the actual exit revealed that she wasn’t outside either. 

She supposed the stairs were her last option. 

* * *

“It’s over Adam, now _please_ , just go. Leave me alone.”

“Was the White Fang never good enough for you? Is _that_ it?” He asked and finally took a step towards her, she took a step back. Blake hated this dance they were doing. “Not at all, I just have a life now, with my girlfriend, with my education.”

“Girlfriend... _weird_ little phase you’re going through.”

“It’s a committed relationship with someone who actually cares about me.”

“I _care_ about you. I _love_ you,” Adam says as he reaches his hands out. She flinched, expecting a strike, but nothing came. She steadied her breathing. “You _stabbed me_ and left me in _the middle of nowhere_.” His brow furrowed, he didn’t like being called out. But she knew this was the end of the line, she needed to keep going. No more ignoring her problems or hiding in bed with Yang until they went away.

“You hated that I wanted to go to Beacon, that I wanted to go to university. You didn’t want me to have a life outside of you,” she said, and felt a surge of confidence to continue. “You stalked me everyday, you even followed me across Vale to another town!” His nostril twitched. Maybe he thought she didn’t know about that. “You text and call me constantly from a number I can’t get rid of.” She had to choke back a sob, realising now that all of this had piled up inside her.

“You even killed a _kitten_ just to get a message across to me, then left it on my doorstep,” her voice was coming out breathy, tears prickled at the edge of her eyes at the thought of that poor creature. Stabbed, burned and left right outside her door. “No sane person would do those things to someone they loved.”

“ _You_ drove me to it. You can’t just abandon me like that and expect it to be alright.”

“I broke up with you because I didn’t want anything to do with you anymore, because you are a _fucking_ psychopath-“

“Shut up!”

* * *

Yang was halfway up the stairs and definitely heard that shout. The bad feeling in her chest returned and she began running up the stairs now, opposed to her quick shuffling from before. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought this was. 

Another shout and she was moving faster, following the sound. Sprinting down the hallway. She reached a metal door and attempted to open it, the handle jamming every time she did so. Why was this door locked? 

* * *

“How could you just throw it all away? For some blonde?” Adam snarled, taking more than one step towards Blake and suddenly it was no longer a dangerous dance, but an animal fighting back after being cornered. She had said too many truths to him, maybe the reality was sinking in. “ _I_ didn’t have anything, you had it all,” she gulped and tried to sidestep him. He moved in her way.

“We were in love-“

“I was _fifteen_ when this all started, I _barely_ even _knew_ what love was!” Saying it out loud made a darker reality settle into place. She supposed even at the time she should have saw the red flags. But when you look at someone with those heart shaped glasses, tinted red, all the red flags just look like flags.

Blake tried to step around him again, but Adam moved in the way. She sniffled in an attempt to breathe, “It’s over Adam... just let me go.” There was something resting against her hip, right above her scar. She looked down to see a knife and knew it was purposeful. Like he was threatening to open the old wounds, a reminder that he would always be there, that she couldn’t escape. Blake tried to step the other way but he grabbed her arm, pushing her backwards until her back was pressed to the wall. Another push and she would go hurdling thirty feet to the ground...

“It’s not over until I say it is-“

Both of them snapped their attention to the door bursting open, hanging off the hinge. Yang stepped through into the roof, eyes blown wide from shock, which then narrowed to careful consideration. Blake used the moment of shock on Adam’s part to get away, but only managed to slide along the wall before she being grabbed at again. But Yang, ever the hero, had decided to join the situation and grabbed at the collar of Adam’s shirt, pulling him backwards.

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking touch her!”

Blake sidled along the small wall, as far away from Adam as she could get. But she couldn’t watch Yang try and get away from him now as well, deftly avoiding the blade in his hand. Blake was aware how insane the whole situation was, but she supposed it just goes to show how insane Adam was. She had, on pure instinct, reached forward to try and grab the blade out of his hand. He swung back at her, missing, but it knocked her back against the wall again. Her balance wavered slightly, but she managed to catch herself before she could get knocked over.

But when Adam turned to face her, she almost felt like it might have been better to fall over. Because he completely ignored Yang and began walking over, long strides with a menacing aura. It was terrifying, to be fearing for your own life. There was a statement behind his gaze: _if I can’t have you then no one can_. It went unsaid but it was implied. He swung the blade again, putting all of his strength in it. Blake closed her eyes and braced for the pain...

But a strong tug pulling her away from him made her open her eyes again. She was sorry she did. Adam had missed her, but hadn’t the time to stop himself from completely the swing of his arm.

He went head first over the small brick wall.

Yang held her tight, tighter than before, and began to guide them back towards the door. 

There was a crash- a splat- a _something_ that indicated Adam had hit the ground hard. “Blake we need to go,” Yang said, her voice shaky. Blake nodded and let herself be led, knowing she was safe with Yang but uncertain of anything else. Apparently she was going too slowly, because Yang lifted her up and began running down the stairs, which proved to be quite the task on a spiral staircase whilst holding someone.

Weiss was looking up at them from the bottom of the staircase, eyebrows raised. Did she know what happened? “Weiss I need a favour,” Yang said before Blake could process that Weiss had just questioned why they had been upstairs. “I need you to go get Blake’s stuff and drive us to the hotel, we really need to go.” Weiss heard the panic in Yang’s voice, saw the shocked state that Blake was in. So she did as Yang requested.

“Hey,” the blonde said, gently stroking Blake’s cheek. “It’s gonna be alright, I promise you.” Blake could only nod and hope she was right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long ass chapter for the climax baby. Hope y’all enjoyed, we’re in the end zone now.


	27. Unorthodox Solutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake discover there’s a possibility they could be implicated in a murder. Their solution is unorthodox at best.

They had explained to Weiss what happened once they got inside the hotel. It was a miracle they had even got out of the building without raising suspicion. Yang thanked the world for small mercys. Weiss had paced back and forth in front of them, eyes flicking around as she thought, and thought, and thought, until there was nothing left to think of.

“The two of you need to stay here, do not leave and don’t answer that door unless you know who’s behind it,” Weiss had instructed before she left. Yang assumed she had a plan to help them, or was at least going to get someone to help them.

But that was hours ago and she hadn’t so much as sent a text to update them.

“I’m _so_ sorry...” Blake whispered. Yang had tried her best to try and keep Blake calm. Whilst she was putting up a good front herself, she was panicking. They had both been up on that roof when he fell, and although they hadn’t been responsible for what happened, they had been there. Her only comfort was knowing that Qrow might be able to get them out of this. The blonde sighed through her nose, shifting until her back was against the headboard. She pulled Blake further into her lap, hugging her tightly.

“It’s okay baby... it’s okay,” she said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Blake let out another broken sob and began petting Yang‘s hair, pulling back slightly to look at her. See, here was the strange part, Yang didn’t feel guilty about what had happened. The guy had it coming, it was karma really. But seeing Blake so upset baffled her, because... _why_? She didn’t want to ask though, scared it would open an old wound. So instead she let her hands wander over Blake’s body, fingers digging in to hopefully ground her.

“Do you think they’ll pin this on us?” Blake asked, a tiny little whimper escaping. Her ears seemed to be permanently pinned back. It broke Yang’s heart. She sat up, hands gliding down to hold Blake’s waist. “I don’t see how they can,” Yang said quietly, smiling softly at her. “They don’t have any proof, besides, we didn’t do anything.”

“Yang, I have a history with him.”

“And it’s on record that he was stalking you-“

“There’s a lot of things on record, it’s on record that he broke into SDC pharmacies to steal dust, which links me-“

“ _Blake_.” Yang placed her hands on Blake’s shoulders, lightly pushing her down into the mattress. “You’re spiralling,” she said and Blake took a deep, shuddering breath. Eyelashes fluttered as they fell shut. The crying had ruined her makeup, for as little as there was. Mascara half ran down her cheeks. Yang gently rubbed at it then winced when she realised she had made it worse. She attempted to fix it but... no she was pretty sure this was staining her cheek.

Blake giggled, quiet yet watery, a tiny snort slipping out. Yang grinned, gulping, it had taken her hours to settle Blake. But she supposed it was worth all the effort. Blake gasped and then reached over to the nightstand, grabbing her phone. “I should tell my mom we’re here right?” Blake asked, pressing her phone into her chest and looking to Yang for some sort of answer.

“I’m sure we should’ve told her we were here hours ago.” Yang winced, sitting up and allowing Blake to twisted and fall back into her. She called her mom, who answered immediately.

“Blake, it’s midnight!” The two of them winced at Kali’s angry tone. The two of them had been caught up in what happened with Adam earlier and had forgotten to call and say that they had made it back to the hotel. Yang would make a comment on how Kali should trust them, but to be fair if she were Kali she wouldn’t trust been either. “I just read about Adam, are you and Yang alright?”

And the somber mood had returned after only a few minutes of Blake being neutral. The Faunus girl made a few choked noises, clearly not knowing what to say to her. Yang was about to reach over to take the phone when Blake finally spoke. “Y-Yeah... we’re fine. We’ve just been here at the hotel.” Yang was a tiny bit relieved that she was able to string together a sentence to her mom. There was a pause as Blake tried to think of something else to say.

“Put Yang on.”

And Kali did not believe that everything was alright.

Blake handed the phone to Yang and took off to the bathroom. The blonde took in a deep breath and held the phone to her ear. “Hey!” She said cheerfully and the sigh at the other end of the phone told her that she had completely blew it. “Please tell me what’s going on,” Kali pleaded and... well Yang wasn’t going to lie to her. “Blake’s just a little shaken over what happened. You don’t have to worry though, I’m here with her.” So maybe she chickened out and didn’t tell her the whole truth but, technically, she never lied.

“Okay... okay.” Kali sighed, excepting that answer. Yang heard a few bumping sounds coming from the bathroom and tilted her head to try and catch a glimpse of what her girlfriend was doing. All she saw was her silhouette moving along the wall. “What’ve the two of you been doing, or should I just assume...” there was a teasing lilt to her voice that made Yang laugh.

“Well seeing as I’m still in my suit and Blake’s still got her dress on, you can assume otherwise.”

“Okay wisecrack, I’ll speak to you both tomorrow.”

Yang smiled and let the phone fall onto the bed. She slid off her blazer, carefully placing it over the coat hanger that was on the wall. She turned her attention to her tie, taking her time as she took it apart. “No, wait!” Blake cried, her feet and dress audibly sweeping over the carpet as she ran over. Yang raised an eyebrow at her as she approached. Blake began fixing her tie back to the way it was, albeit very loosely. “I’ve always wanted to do this,” she said, looking up at Yang as she tugged at the knot with her finger, the tie falling apart underneath her hand.

Blake smiled and took a moment to admire the tie loosely hanging over her collar. “Okay, I’m done.” She spun away, going back towards the bathroom. Yang chuckled and shook her head, laughing at how Blake rifled through the backpack filled with clothes, looking for something to wear. The blonde gently took the bag from her, pulling out a t-shirt and shorts for herself. They both had to laugh at how carefully they took off the rest of their clothes, hanging them up so they wouldn’t crease. They were _way_ too expensive to leave them lying around.

Yang chuckled and pinched at her bra, the lace gently scratching against her skin. “It’s too bad this was for nothing tonight...” Yang sighed. Blake frowned and ran her tongue along her teeth, “I’m sorry.” Yang shook her head and tossed the bra aside, quickly throwing the t-shirt over her head. “It’s not your fault,” she said softly, the bed sinking with her weight as she sat down next to Blake. The Faunus girl dipped her head down, face in her hand. The way her body shuddered indicated the tears has returned.

“Don’t cry, it’ll be fine.” She tugged on Blake’s shoulder, prompting her into resting her weight on the blondes shoulder. “How do you know it’ll be fine?” Blake asked, turning her head until her face was pressed into her neck. “Because we know a ton of people who aren’t going to let anything happen to us... just trust me.”

Blake nodded, nose tickling Yang’s skin. She sat up and let out another shuddering sigh, then a mischievous smirk grew upon her face. “So are you going to explain all of the stuff in your bag?” Blake raised both of her eyebrows, grin growing. Yang’s face flushed, she had forgotten about the things she brought with her. “I thought... _you know_...” she couldn’t find the words to explain herself, her hand just floated aimlessly in the air. Blake laughed and swung herself to the other side of the bed, grabbing the bag.

“Is this your way of saying you want to take my virginity _again_ ,” she said, giggling to herself as she held a harness and a dildo. Yang buried her face into the bed sheets, she had thought it would be a good idea at first but now it was just embarrassing. “Possibly...” Blake laughed again and tossed them both back down into her backpack, crawling back up the bed to lie on Yang’s back.

“It would’ve been nice if... everything hadn’t happened,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck before burying her face into her back, inhaling the scent of her t-shirt. It was odd, this situation that they were in, because they kept bouncing back and forth between what they should be doing and the worrying reality they were in. She wasn’t sure what to do about it, neither was Blake. So they were stuck in between, waiting for the consequences, if there even were any.

Yang twisted on to her side, Blake moving back so that she could move. She opened up her arms, a sign for Blake to come cuddle with her. She smiled and did what was intended, slotting herself between Yang’s arms. 

* * *

They both woke up in a panic, the door being banged on and Yang’s phone ringing. It was so many noises at once they didn’t at all know what was going on. Deciding on the lesser of two evils, Yang answered her phone whilst Blake had one hand clutching the back of her shirt. 

“It’s Weiss, open the door.” 

Yang let out a long sigh of relief and mouthed, “It’s Weiss.” Blake let out a sigh as well and fell back into the pillows, a hand on her chest to feel her racing heartbeat. Yang let her phone drop onto the bed and plodded over to the door, unlocking it. Weiss immediately pushed it open, half knocking Yang backwards but she managed to catch herself before she fell. Qrow stomped in behind her, quickly shutting the door. 

“What the hell were the two of you thinking?!” Qrow whispered harshly, his voice coming out hoarse and raspy in parts. Yang rolled her eyes and climbed back into bed with Blake. He was about to lecture them and she really wasn’t in the mood for that. Neither was Blake by the way she picked up Yang’s arm to wrap it around herself. She shifted into a comfier position for Blake to lie against her. Weiss giggled silently at their deadpan expressions. 

“I heard through the grapevine that cops are looking to question the two of you,” Qrow said breaking into his odd jive of hand gestures. “Yet here the two of you are, lying in bed without a care.” That had admittedly scared both of them, both of their bodies tightening and hairs standing on end. There was no plan for them to get out of this and Yang had just kind of relied on Qrow to bail them out. 

Weiss rolled her eyes and gently slapped his arm. Blake raised an eyebrow then remembered that Weiss was practically family for them so that interaction wasn’t at all strange. “So what do we do?” Yang asked and Weiss’ face lit up. She looked to Qrow for him to continue. “The good news is, the evidence that the two of you were on that roof is only circumstantial. The security cameras in that building don’t work.” Yang and Blake looked between each other. This was turning into one of those series’ they had watched. 

“So the only way they can link the two of up there is that someone had said they saw the two of you go through the fire exit, which just so happens to be next to the stairs. Plus Blake does know Adam.”

Blake turned to Yang and mouthed, “I told you so.” The blonde narrowed her eyes at her, she didn’t think right now was the time for an ‘I told you so’ but she wasn’t about to argue with her. She was right, after all. “Shitty taste in men and women by the way, first him then Yang, you’ve got no luck-“ 

“Qrow, just cut to the chase before I get a life sentence!” Yang barked, patience wearing thin with how long he was dragging on this explanation. He smirked and Weiss for far too giddy for their liking. “I was thinking of a different kind of life sentence,” Qrow says, half smirking as he put his hands behind his back. Yang blinked slowly in an attempt to convey that she still had no clue what he was talking about. 

“ _Marriage_.”

“Oh...” Yang and Blake raised their eyebrows and looked at each other, then back to Qrow. “That’s an... _unorthodox_ solution,” Blake said, bemused and disbelieving that this was what it had came to. “But it would work,” Weiss said, flashing a thin lipped smile at them. Qrow nodded and pointed at her, agreeing. “By law, your spouse can’t be forced to give evidence against you. And both of you are of legal age to get married... _with_ parental consent.” Yang couldn’t help but chuckle at how Weiss was basically just reciting the law word by word.

“ _How_ do you know all this?” Blake asked. The two of them had sat upright out of intrigue but Yang remained with her arms wrapped around Blake’s waist. Weiss’ expression changed to something blank and distant. “My parents are horrifying and let’s just leave it at that.” Upon her request, she left it at that. “Right, but what about getting the marriage papers?” Yang was pretty confused and taken aback by all of this.

Qrow whipped out a bundle of papers from inside his jacket, waving them in the air. “Jaune’s sister-in-law was able to pull some strings.” Blake and Yang glanced at each other for what felt like the hundredth time, both of them acknowledging how shady this all was. Yang was no expert but she knew you couldn’t just whip out papers like that from now where. “All that needs to happen is for these to get signed.”

Blake let out a long sigh, eyes wide and mouth agape. To be fair it was eight in the morning and she had been told that she was getting married, so it was definitely not a normal situation. Yang couldn’t say she was any less shocked. Qrow and Weiss looked between each other. “Do you guys new a few to wrap your heads around this?” Qrow asked. They both nodded silently which prompted Qrow and Weiss to leave.

Blake shuffled around on the bed until she was sitting facing Yang. They both wore the same shocked expression, showing worry on their own ways with. Those ways being Blake’s ears flopping forward and Yang’s brows knitted together. “We don’t need to do this,” Yang said, cutting through the silence. Blake shook her head and looked down at her knees. “I know but this would definitely help us out...” Blake said quietly, but Yang could see the cogs whirring in her mind, trying to come up with another solution.

“We can always get divorced,” Yang said, smiling. It was meant as a joke but that would honestly be better for the two of them once this was over. “Yeah, and I can take your motorcycle,” Blake said, smiling back at her. “I can learn to ride it.” They both giggled at each other, sharing soft smiles between them. Yang gently took both of her hands in hers. “Are you sure about this?” She asked, because she wasn’t sure herself.

Blake nodded gingerly. “It’ll get us out of whatever this, so yeah...” she said and Yang nodded. If she was honest she was just doing whatever Blake did at this point. Her phone buzzed and she reached over for it, holding it so Blake could see the text message as well. 

**Qrow:** we’re gonna go get ur girls parents to sign this thing 

“They’re gonna kill me...”

“Not true, they’re literally going to kill me!” 

* * *

They had got up and got dressed, deciding that they should now that their hotel room was about to be flooded with people they knew. Blake hid their bag, deciding now wouldn’t be the greatest time for her parents to accidentally see their sex toys. This day couldn’t get worse as it was. Seeing as they were supposed to go back to Blake’s place and pick up more clothes for her, she ended up in Yang’s clothes. 

At least Blake could now joke about that she got married in a hoodie and jeans. 

“Should we get breakfast?” Yang asked, surveying the room service menu in her hand. Blake raised an eyebrow at her. It was remarkable how they kept trying to ignore the insane things that were happening today by doing normal things. Such as, looking at menus. Yang smiled and spun the menu in her hands to show it to Blake, tapping her finger off of a line of writing. “They do yoghurt with honey and berries, you love stuff like that!” 

Blake smiled, “I do, but I’m not all that hungry.” 

“There’s smoked salmon.” 

Blake wasn’t hungry due to the abnormal situation... but that was extremely tempting. Yang laughed as she spun the menu again. “They serve cookies and milk, Ruby would love this,” she said. Blake had to smile again at how sweet it was. She supposed after practically raising your sister, even at the age she is now, there’s still little parts that she still brings up. Like how whenever cookies were brought up, there was always a comment on how Ruby loved them. Sometimes when they stayed at Yang’s place she would get the urge to go check on her during the night, just to make sure she was sleeping alright. 

It was cute and it made Blake think that maybe everything would be alright. Which was stupid. Just because they loved each other didn’t mean that every problem was magically fixed just because they were together... but it was a nice thought. It comforted her and made her believe everything was fine. And honestly, it helped her. 

“If you’re hungry get something, you don’t have to wait for me,” Blake said, sniggering at her. Yang threw herself onto the bed, causing them both to bounce from her weight crashing against the mattress. She rested her head in Blake’s lap and pouted up at her. “But what kind of person would I be if I let you go hungry.”

“ _But_ I just told you I’m not hungry.”

“ _But_ I may have forgotten that detail.”

Blake giggled at her, Yang’s lips upturned into that charming smile, dimples on display. She leaned down to kiss her, both of them giggling and smiling against each other’s lips. “Wait, sorry.” Yang chuckled awkwardly as she twisted to pull the chain on her trousers out from under her. Blake huffed out a laugh through her nose, picking at the chain. “Are you trying to become a biker chick or something?”

“I’m already a totally rad biker chick.”

“You are a jock.”

“And you’re the goth who falls in love with the jock, we’re a classic trope-“

The door clicked open and both of them sat up to look at who had came inside, only to be overwhelming confused by most of their friends coming inside whilst Weiss held the door open for them. Weiss smiled and waved a key card in the air, “It’s under my name so I just got another key to let us in.”

“Great, _fantastic_ , thanks for telling us you were on your way here with-“ Yang stood up and waved her arm around “- _absolutely_ everyone.” Blake spotted her mom and tugged on Yang’s hand to let her know that she had to calm down. Because Kali did not look happy. As predicted. The blonde caught on to what she meant and immediately grimaced. Kali stormed over, pressing the marriage papers onto Yang’s chest.

“I don’t think we should be here for this,” Ruby said and Weiss nodded her head in agreement.

The intense stare down Yang was having was admittedly making Blake nervous, and the silence probably wasn’t helping. She bounced up and over, placing her hands on Yang’s shoulder. “It wasn’t her fault, it was mine-“

“No, it was my fault-“

“Both of you, _shhhh_!” Kali waved her hand as she shushed them. “Thank you for looking after her and you-“ she poked Blake’s nose “-are lucky she was there. But I’m glad you’re alright.” Yang raised her eyebrows, “This was not what I expected.”

Kali closed her eyes and sighed, handing them the papers and a small pen. “Both of you need to sign this,” Kali said, taking a few steps back after Blake took the papers from them. They both gulped, shakily signing their names on the paper. Something in the back of Blake’s head hated that this was how this was happening for them, but she decided that it was best to just go with this or else they might both end up in jail. 

“Alright, we ready to get this show on the road?” Qrow’s voice croaked over everyone as he walked inside, Clover walking behind him. “Wait, hold on,” Coco said as she and Velvet walked inside. She held up her phone to snap a photo. “One for the photo album.” Everyone glared at her, making her clear her throat awkwardly. 

“Okay, here’s what’s happening,” Clover said, speaking before anyone had a chance to start up anymore shenanigans. “Weiss will officiate your wedding, she took a seminar apparently. Then I will arrest you-“

“So nice of you.”

“Not the time Yang- besides, would you rather someone else arrest you?” 

“Fair point well made.” 

Blake scratched the back of her neck nervously, because this was nerve wracking and it was also embarrassing with everyone here. How the hell did people get married for real? “Okay so-“ 

“Wait, we’re here!” Pyrrha yelled, skipping into the room, dragging who they assumed to be Jaune behind her. Yang rolled her eyes and muttered, “ _For fuck sake_.” Blake and Kali giggled at how impatient she was getting now. To be fair this was getting stranger by the second. Especially when they saw Jaune wearing a dress. Pyrrha smiled and whirled him into the room, showing him off. “A few months ago I said this _exact_ thing would happen!” Pyrrha said excitedly and it sounded more like she was bragging than anything else. “Then Jaune said he would wear a dress to the wedding so... here he is.” 

“Fantastic, you look great,” Weiss said dryly, waving them off and walking over to Blake and Yang. “Let’s hurry up, this is getting strange.” 

“Do you take her to be your wife?” Weiss said quickly, looking at Yang and gesturing at Blake. 

“Totes.” 

“What about you?” Weiss said and they couldn’t help but snort with laughter at her blank expression. 

“Sure, why not.”

“Okay you’re married-“

“That is definitely not how this works but okay.” Blake shook her head. Kali gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Yang puffed her cheeks and frowned, “Shouldn’t we have rings or something?” Pyrrha squealed and jumped in place, holding her finger out and telling them to wait. When she ripped off some red thread from her sweatshirt they both groaned. Yang rolled her eyes and took the piece of string from her, holding it up in front of her.

“Will you accept this shoddy piece of thread?” Yang grinned. Blake faked a gasp, placing her hand over her mouth. “Are you proposing?” She said and Yang tilted her head curiously. “No, we just got married.”

“Yeah the ceremony was awful but the reception was brilliant.” Yang and Blake giggled, teeth showing as they shared their laugh. It wasn’t funny, but Blake had said it so Yang thought it was hilarious. “They do this a lot,” Ruby said, Kali nodding and humming in agreement. They both continued to giggle as Yang tied the piece of thread around Blake’s finger, then she tapped the back of her to get her attention. “Hey, we _tied the knot_.” She laughed, tightening the loop around her finger to emphasise the joke. Their laughs became hysterical. 

“Okay, quit it. Both of you,” Clover said, pressing a hand on Yang’s shoulder to pulling her out of whatever little world her and Blake had slipped onto. Blake glanced down at her hand. She actually liked the little thread ring, drawn into a perfect bow around her finger. 

Yang half smiled and held her hands out to Clover, who chuckled and gently placed the handcuffs on her wrists. She turned back to Blake and grinned, mouthing, “How do I look?” 

Blake giggled. “Still like a jock.” 

* * *

As planned and predicted, they didn’t get into any trouble. Well, they did get a warning. Blake specifically got a warning not to get involved with people like Adam. His death was just chalked up to a fatal accident, which was great for them but didn’t feel good. At all. 

“I feel shitty,” Blake admitted as the two of them walked through the hallways of the precinct, seeing Sun and Neptune getting into trouble inside of the bullpen. “What about?” Yang asked, squeezing her hand gently. “About how depressing Adam’s funerals gonna be. There’s not going to be anyone there.”

“Yes there is. All of his cronies will be there.” 

“But not anyone that _really_ knew him.”

Yang sighed softly and shook her head. “He did that to himself,” she said. Blake nodded and hummed in agreement. That was true, but it wasn’t any less sad. He was still a person. A person that she had loved and been close to once. Even after all the things he did, she still felt bad. Although it wasn’t a feeling she dwelled on, just that passing thought whenever it was brought up. 

“So what do we do now?” Yang asked. Blake genuinely didn’t know how to answer that. Because there were so many things in her head right now. “Want to get divorced?” She said, half smiling. It was a joke because truthfully she really didn’t. Although she was sure their marriage contract was shady and probably not entirely legal, it was Qrow that had procured it after all. “I was thinking more dinner.” Yang chuckled. 

Blake half smiled but... it was a weird day. She enjoyed the breeze that hit her when Yang opened the door for the two of them. Kali was sat in her car outside, waiting to drive them. Blake felt weird. _Really_ odd. Yang obviously caught onto the frown on her face and stopped walking, turning to look at Blake. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, then caught on to her mistake when Blake didn’t stop frowning. “Or we can... _not_ talk about... _anything_. We can go back to the hotel, get room service, watch one of those romcoms you like?”

Blake smiled. Yang winked at her, drawing a giggle out of her. She popped the car door open for her, letting Blake get in before her. “We can also totally get divorced,” she said as she slid into the seat, the door clunking shut. Kali raised an eyebrow at them. “ _Joke_ ,” Blake mouthed to her. “Actually, I liked your idea better.” Blake smiled.

“Which one, I had many.”

“The one where we spend the rest of the night in bed, eating and watching movies.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

“Do you ever run out of money?” Kali asked, looking at them in the rear view mirror. Yang grinned. “I actually make pretty good pay,” Yang says, instinctively placing her hand around Blake’s waist. Because that’s what they do, and it’s natural, and Blake loves it. “Good pay in general or good pay for someone who only needs to top up their bike with gas?”

“The second one.” Blake raised an eyebrow and turned to her. “How much do you make?” Blake asked. Because she had never asked before and was genuinely curious because she just seemed to buy things all the time. “Around a grand and a half.”

“Shouldn’t have told me that. I’m gonna go nuts spending your lien.”

“As you should.”

.....

“Or I _could_ just divorce you.”

They both giggled, because it was funny and it was an extra joke they could make now. Sure, it had a weighty meaning but that was a conversation for another day. Right now, they would settle for dinner and a movie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know how it got so farfetched. It was fun writing it though and it’s just a very bumbleby type of scenario. 
> 
> Also I’m already some new ideas for what I’m gonna do after this fic. I’m thinking motorcyclist Yang.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks everyone for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Anywhos any and all criticism is welcome, I’m not gonna make any promises for when this gets updated because school, other fics and I’m a mess I’m sorry.


End file.
